What is the difference between monkeypox, which is now spreading in Europe, and monkeypox in West Africa, and what did the World Health Organization say about the monkeypox vaccination, and then what made 3 lies about monkeypox?
The difference between monkeypox in Europe and West Africa
Hossam Abu Farsakh, a consultant in the diagnosis of tissue and clinical diseases in Amman, Jordan, said - in exclusive statements to Al-Jazeera Net - that although monkeypox, which is present in Europe now and in more than 20 countries in the world, is the type of virus found in West Africa, there are Very important differences in it indicate that it may be a new breed.
Here are the differences between monkeypox in Europe and West Africa:
Monkeypox in Europe is transmitted from human to human, while in Africa from animals (especially rodents) only to humans and rarely from human to human.
Monkeypox in Europe has not recorded any deaths, despite the numbers reaching more than a thousand cases, while in West Africa it is 1%.
Children under 16 years of age are getting more severe disease in Africa, not Europe.
The clone number of the virus known as R naught - which measures the average number of infected individuals - in Africa is less than 1, but in Europe it is not yet known and may increase if it spreads among the unvaccinated.
Dr. Abu Farsakh said that the monkeypox virus is still not fatal, but this may change in the future, especially for those who suffer from immunodeficiency.
He added that the genes of the monkeypox virus are 7 times larger than the Corona virus, yet the mutations in it are very few because it is a DNA virus.
He pointed out that the virus is expected to be endemic in Europe, and the idea of its ending soon seems impossible.
Dr. Abu Farsakh said that in the Arab world, where the smallpox vaccine was almost stopped in 1980 - routine vaccination with smallpox vaccine was stopped all over the world in the year 1980 according to the MSD guideline - it is advised for those under 40 years of age to take the smallpox vaccine if the disease spreads, because it is one of the We know about the virus in Africa, the vaccine prevents 85% of infections.
What did the World Health Organization say about the monkeypox vaccination?
And the World Health Organization announced that the once-usual smallpox vaccination is up to 85% effective against monkeypox infection.
This came according to what the organization announced in Geneva on Saturday, based on studies.
Routine vaccination against smallpox was discontinued after the disease was declared eradicated in 1980.
The organization pointed out that monkeypox may cause death, especially in young children and people with compromised immune systems, for example with HIV.
It is noteworthy that no deaths from monkeypox infection have been reported outside Africa since the first cases were announced last May.
Studies have shown that more than 90% of infected people fully recovered again, regardless of whether they received a smallpox vaccine or not.
On Thursday, Spanish health officials recommended the monkeypox vaccination for those at high risk of infection, and urged people aged 80 and over to start planning for a fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine in the near future.
The authorities in Spain indicated that "in light of the limited availability of vaccines, we will give priority to people who are in contact."
3 newest lies about monkeypox
Misinformation 1: Monkeypox is just a media lie
The claim: Many social media users believe that there is no such thing as monkeypox, and that it is just a hoax.
And the pictures that are published with reports of the disease, are in fact old pictures or of other diseases such as impetigo.
And about that spread a lot of pictures, especially on Twitter, to compare and prove the validity of this claim.
But this is a fallacy, according to a report in Deutsche Welle.
Monkeypox is a real disease, and the virus that causes the disease has been known since 1958, and since 1970 it has been known to be transmitted to humans as well.
There have always been cases of the disease, but it was limited to West and Central African countries.
In Nigeria, there have been a large number of injuries since 2017, more than 500 cases, and they are still continuing today.
The "old" photos that are supposed to prove that monkeypox reports are false, mostly agency photos of the disease, have been with those agencies for years.
It is usual that the image is used frequently in reports on medical topics, because these images are few in the first place.
And some Twitter users, post pictures of articles about monkeypox and herpes next to each other, which look similar and are two different diseases, to prove their claim that media reports about monkeypox are false.
A search engine search shows that the Queensland government's info text on herpes has already been spelled out in a Twitter image, but for the monkeypox article, it's a bit more complicated: at least since May 19, 2022 the info text posted on the health site doesn't contain Twitter picture but on another picture.
An old version of the article dated July 17, 2021 actually shows a picture of herpes that has been published to show monkeypox, but in the meantime this error has been corrected.
Thus an editorial error on a site does not change the fact that monkeypox is present.
Misinformation 2: Monkeypox is caused by the Corona vaccine
Some claim that the AstraZeneca vaccine against coronavirus contains weakened adenoviruses as a vector for the DNA of the coronavirus protein.
For some users, this suggests that the monkeypox infection was due to the vaccine.
Truth
: False claim.
There is no relationship between monkeypox and monkey adenoviruses, even if the word "monkeys" might suggest a connection between them, the two viruses are different and have nothing to do with them.
Christine Falk, president of the German Society for Immunology, says, "Monkeypox is called this name, because it was first discovered in 1958 among a group of monkeys. But in fact the source of the virus is rodents, and monkeys may be an intermediate vector."
Adenoviruses, including chimpanzee adenoviruses, which are the basis for the vaccine vector, are completely different and are not monkeypox virus with different characteristics.
Sometimes these viruses may cause infections similar to the common cold.
There are some viruses that have been isolated from chimpanzees and modified for use in vaccines.
Our bodies don't have as much immunity as human adenoviruses, so Falk and other experts don't see corona vaccines as having anything to do with the monkeypox outbreak.
Misinformation 3: The source of the monkeypox virus is a laboratory in Wuhan, China
The Wuhan Institute of Virology is said to have conducted experiments with monkeypox viruses, and for some this is a clear indication of the current outbreak.
This is reminiscent of the "lab theory" and the Corona virus, which researchers believe is out of the question, but has not been completely ruled out.
The truth is that this is a false claim.
In fact, there were PCR experiments for monkeypox in the Wuhan laboratory.
This is indisputable, as in February 2022 a laboratory study made transparent reference to this.
However, this study only tested a part of the virus containing less than a third of the monkeypox genome.
According to the study, this part is completely safe, as there is no risk that it may develop again into an infectious virus.
Dr. says.
Mark Slivka, a researcher in virology and immunology, told Deutsche Welle, "There is no evidence that the monkeypox virus came from a laboratory. The virus is found in the wild among animal populations in West and Central African countries. Almost every year there is a limited outbreak of the virus among humans."
Slifka says that by sequencing the genome, scientists can distinguish between different strains of the virus.
Thus, it can be determined whether the virus is related to the monkeypox virus strain in West Africa or Central Africa.
"To my knowledge, none of the initial cases that were reported, the patient had not traveled to China before he was diagnosed," Slivka adds.
Even the World Health Organization has confirmed that all cases diagnosed so far are related to the monkeypox virus strain that originated in West Africa.