#monkeypox outbreak

Monkeypox Outbreak: Ghana records four deaths, 116 cases Ghana recorded four deaths and 116 confirmed cases of the Monkeypox disease in 2022, in 14 out of the 16 regions. Two deaths were recorded in Upper East and one each in the Greater Accra and Central regions. The Savannah and Ahafo regions did not record any cases, Dr Farida Abdulai, the Deputy Director, Ghana Health Service (GHS),…

Monkeypox is a rare zoonotic infection caused by the Monkeypox virus. It is an orthopoxvirus infection with symptoms similar to those of smallpox. Monkeypox virus often affects nonhuman primates like monkeys or rodents like rats or mice. However, the infection can pass to humans as well. Usually, symptoms of monkeypox start 5 to 21 days after exposure to the virus. This is called the incubation period of the disease. The signs and symptoms of monkeypox include fever, skin rash, chills, myalgia, back pain, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes. The skin rashes begin 1 to 4 days after your fever first appears. Monkeypox rash starts on the face, hands, or legs and spreads to other body parts. Rashes appear to be flat in the earlier stages of illness and later develop into blisters filled with pus, and scabs fall off over two to four weeks. In 2022, the monkeypox outbreak was reported in different non-endemic countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and parts of Europe. Due to the recent incidence of the disease and increasing monkeypox cases, it has been declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). At the same time, health authorities have alarmed scientists worldwide to ramp up research for discovering potent vaccines and treatments to curb the disease outbreak.

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Health secretary Thérèse Coffey has been accused of ‘jeopardising public health’ after she decided not to secure extra monkeypox vaccines despite advice from officials.

Coffey decided not to purchase a recommended 70,000 extra doses of the monkeypox vaccine on 21 September, according to a report by the Financial Times. The UK health security agency (UKHSA) recommended the nation boost its supply of the vaccine to protect in the long-term against a potential resurgence of monkeypox. 

However, Coffey reportedly declined to bolster the UK’s supply of monkeypox vaccines as there were concerns the additional doses didn’t represent value for money. The move left UKHSA officials “in shock”, people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times. 

Leading health charities urged Thérèse Coffey to make dealing with monkeypox a top priority. Danny Beales, head of policy and campaigns at the National AIDS Trust, said there needed to be “urgent action of monkeypox” from Coffey as the “outbreak has not so far had the resources and attention it needs”. 

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The pace of new monkeypox cases reported in some major cities -- and in the US overall -- has started to slow recently, but experts say it's too early to know if the trend will last.

On Friday, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said that she is "cautiously optimistic" about the downward trend, but warned that the overall case count is still growing.

"The rate of rise is lower, but we are still seeing increases and we are of course a very diverse country and things are not even across the country. So, we're watching this with cautious optimism," she said.

Last week, there were an average of 337 new cases of monkeypox reported each day in the US, according to CDC data. That's a 24% drop from two weeks earlier -- a difference of more than 100 cases a day.

A few factors are "working together to bend the curve," Walensky said, including vaccination, behavior changes and harm reduction messages "being heard and implemented."

But many more factors are still in flux, leaving questions unanswered.

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Sustained human-to-human transmission of monkeypox can be eliminated in Europe, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The WHO's regional director for Europe, Dr Hans Kluge, said at a briefing that there are "encouraging early signs" that the outbreak has been slowing.

More than 22,000 cases have been recorded in 43 countries in the organisation's European region, accounting for more than a third of the global number of infections. The region includes Russia and countries in Central Asia.

Last week, the WHO reported a 21% reduction in new cases worldwide after four consecutive weeks of increases.

"There are encouraging early signs, as evidenced in France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, and other countries, that the outbreak may be slowing," Kluge said.