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"There is no reason for there to be a social alarm as a result of monkeypox, but
an epidemiological alarm is necessary with a contagious disease that we have to cut
. It is not an alarm comparable to that of the Covid pandemic. We should not think that monkeypox is going to behave the same, because it is very different".
This is how forceful
Daniel López Acuña, epidemiologist and former director of Sanitary Action of the World Health Organization (WHO),
is shown in the face of the explosion of suspected, possible and confirmed cases of those affected by monkeypox, which is already spreading throughout a dozen countries, including Spain, where seven communities have already registered or are investigating probable cases.
According to López-Acuña, dozens of cases are being discussed "and the transmission is not by aerosols. We have to stop it now so that it does not spread, but we cannot compare it with Covid in terms of transmission routes and the point of view of the Epidemiology. That is,
there is no need to be alarmed that there is a new pandemic
. What there are are
epidemic outbreaks of a rare, endemic disease, which is getting a little out of its depth
, because it has occurred in places where it usually does not : in Europe. And, furthermore, it has not been in a single place, but there are practically a dozen countries with cases".
In the case of Spain, the largest number of affected people is concentrated in Madrid (30 confirmed and 39 under investigation) but there are six more communities that have reported the existence of cases: Andalusia (one confirmed and four under study);
Canary Islands with two suspects;
Galicia, Castilla-La Mancha, the Basque Country and Extremadura (with one each, in the latter autonomy it would be a woman whose samples are being studied).
Has anything been learned epidemiologically as a result of Covid?
"It has generated
greater awareness
of the need that has always existed, although it has not always been met,
to declare health alerts when there are epidemic outbreaks
and to establish action protocols so that there is all the clarity in the world on how to diagnose cases, how to isolate them. , how to control outbreaks. In this the pandemic favors us, because it has created awareness."
Of course,
López Acuña considers that it is necessary to "know how to act well" and emphasizes that "this is not a matter of vaccinating
, it is not a disease that is transmitted by aerosols, but rather it is transmitted by close contact by body fluids, with a very different dynamics of contagion".
WHO meeting
Monkeypox or monkey pox (
monkeypox
) is a "viral zoonosis
(disease caused by viruses transmitted from animals to people)", like the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The
World Health Organization (WHO)
considers it "rare
, producing symptoms similar to those seen in smallpox patients in the past, although less severe."
Of course, after the eradication of smallpox in 1980 and the subsequent cessation of vaccination against smallpox,
he points out that it has become the
most important
orthopoxvirus .
The WHO plans an extraordinary meeting for next week and, in this sense, Lopez-Acuña points out that "it
is a habitual action when there is an epidemic outbreak of a disease that is greater than usual
, which had not been present and occurs in several countries" He also recalls that "it was also done when there were outbreaks of Ebola, cholera...
It is to contrast information, compare points of view, analyze possible regulations in terms of action protocols and vaccination.
In other words, it is something standard within the international regulatory framework" and adds: "It should not be interpreted as something that is done due to a disproportionate emergency situation.
We are concerned to see cases throughout Europe, simultaneously, that are not, except for one in the United Kingdom, linked to a visit or interaction with people from endemic areas.
What we
need to understand is how the chains of transmission have come about
."
The former director of WHO Health Action underlines
the importance of thoroughly tracing cases and close contacts:
"They must be isolated and put up a dam to interrupt transmission, which is somewhat widespread, and
everything seems to indicate, in the In
the case of Spain, there have been places of concentration, such as a sauna in Madrid
, where men who have sex with men go and there has been interaction. In any case, there is no need to simplify or stigmatize.
As it is transmitted by body fluids, there may be a transmission also from man to woman and from woman to woman
. Everything depends on close contact."
Family medicine
Javier Arranz
,
a member of the Working Group on Infectious Diseases of the Spanish Society of Family and Community Medicine (Semfyc), like López-Acuña,
clarifies that it is not a pandemic, but that it is about epidemic outbreaks related to each other
, with a link, "with a significant number of people affected and almost always related".
Arranz denies that an alarm is being felt in consultations regarding monkeypox, and points out that the concern of professionals is "intermediate", because
the action in the face of these outbreaks is being relatively rapid
and therefore places the disease in its correct scenario.
Why does Spain lead the number of cases on an international scale?
"The outbreak arose in England and, as it occurs in a country that has more communication with other countries, it begins to generate contacts.
Communication between Spain and the United Kingdom is important, just as it happened with Covid.
And in Spain there has been a specific grouping of people, as could have happened in other countries".
Of course, he emphasizes that the important thing is that "this link has been quickly detected and, therefore, the study of contacts and the possibilities of diagnosis have been expanded," says Arranz.
And he clarifies:
"Monkeypox is not human smallpox, because its usual host is not man, but other animals"
and reiterates that cases appear every year: "The main problem is that there would have been a qualitative leap in the virus that would make it much more contagious to people with low levels of contact. These are studies that should be done, but first stop it from the epidemiological point of view and prevent there from being species that have the virus in Africa and not spread to other places. This is difficult , but not impossible".
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