LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization’s head for Europe warned Friday that cases of monkeypox in the region have tripled in the past two weeks and urged countries to do more to ensure the previously rare disease does not established on the continent.
And African health authorities said they were treating the widening monkeypox outbreak as an emergency, urging rich countries to share limited vaccine supplies to avoid equity problems seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
WHO Europe chief Dr Hans Kluge said in a statement that increased efforts were needed despite the UN health agency’s decision last week that the escalating outbreak did not yet warrant declaring a global health emergency.
“Urgent and coordinated action is imperative if we are to turn the corner in the race to overcome the continued spread of this disease,” Kluge said.
To date, more than 5,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported from 51 countries around the world that do not normally report the disease, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Kluge said the number of infections in Europe represented about 90% of the global total, with 31 countries in the WHO European region having identified cases.
Kluge said data reported to the WHO showed that 99% of cases were in men – most in men who have sex with men. But he said there were now a “small number” of cases among contacts, including children. Most people report symptoms including rash, fever, fatigue, muscle aches, vomiting and chills.
Scientists warn that anyone in close physical contact with someone who has monkeypox or their clothing or bed sheets is at risk of infection. Vulnerable populations such as children and pregnant women are thought to be more likely to suffer from severe disease.
About 10% of patients were hospitalized for treatment or isolation, and one person was admitted to the intensive care unit. No deaths were reported.
Kluge said the problem of stigma in some countries could make some people worried about seeking health care, and said the WHO was working with partners, including organizers of gay parades.
In the UK, which has the largest outbreak of monkeypox outside of Africa, officials noted that the disease is spreading in “defined sexual networks of gay, bisexual or men who have sex with men”. British health authorities said there were no signs of continued transmission outside these populations.
A top WHO adviser said in May that the surge in cases in Europe was likely linked to sexual activity by men at two rave parties in Spain and Belgium.
Ahead of the UK’s gay pride parade this weekend, London’s top public health doctor has asked people with symptoms of monkeypox, such as swollen glands or blisters, to stay home.
However, in Africa, the WHO said detailed data from Ghana showed monkeypox cases were almost evenly split between men and women, and no spread was found among men who have sex with men.
WHO director for Europe Kluge also said that the procurement of vaccines “must apply the principles of fairness”.
The main vaccine used against monkeypox was originally developed for smallpox, and the European Medicines Agency said this week it is beginning to assess whether it should be authorized for monkeypox. The WHO said supplies of the vaccine produced by Bavarian Nordic are extremely limited.
Countries including the UK and Germany have already started vaccinating people at high risk of monkeypox; The UK recently expanded its immunization program to predominantly gay and bisexual men, who have multiple sexual partners and are considered most vulnerable.
Until May, monkeypox had never been known to cause large outbreaks outside of parts of central and west Africa, where it has sickened people for decades, is endemic in several countries, and mostly causes limited outbreaks when it jumps to humans from infected wild animals.
To date, there have been about 1,800 suspected cases of monkeypox in Africa, including more than 70 deaths, but only 109 have been laboratory confirmed. Lack of laboratory diagnostics and poor surveillance mean that many cases go undetected.
“This particular outbreak means an emergency for us,” said Ahmed Oguel, acting director of the African Centers for Disease Control.
The WHO says monkeypox has spread to African countries where it has not been seen before, including South Africa, Ghana and Morocco. But more than 90% of the continent’s infections are in Congo and Nigeria, according to WHO Africa Director Dr Moeti Matshidiso.
Vaccines have never been used to stop epidemics of monkeypox in Africa; officials have relied mostly on contact tracing and isolation.
The WHO noted that, similar to last year’s race for vaccines against COVID-19, countries with monkeypox vaccine supplies are not yet sharing them with Africa.
“We don’t have any donations that have been offered to (poorer) countries,” said Fiona Bracca, who heads the WHO’s emergency response team in Africa. “We know that those countries that have reserves, they keep them mainly for their own population.”
Matshidiso said the WHO was in talks with manufacturers and countries with stocks to see if they could be shared.
“We would like to see the global focus on monkeypox act as a catalyst to defeat this disease once and for all in Africa,” she said on Thursday.
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Mutsaka reported from Harare, Zimbabwe.
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