'A Wake-Up Call': WHO Chief Scientist On Monkeypox Outbreak, Urges Need To Collect Data

Dr Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the WHO, said Monday that the monkeypox outbreak has been a "wake-up call". She added it may be useful to use the smallpox vaccine for monkeypox.

Denmark-based company Bavarian Nordic's Imvanex has received approval from the EMA to be marketed as protection against monkeypox. Since there is no efficacy data about the vaccine, Dr Swaminathan said there is an "urgent need to collect data". 

Source : Twitter/@doctorsoumya

Dr Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO), said Monday that the monkeypox outbreak has been a "wake-up call". In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Dr Swaminathan highlighted the fact that smallpox vaccination programmes have been stopped since 1979-1980. Smallpox vaccines are believed to have the potential to control a monkeypox outbreak. This year, the European Medical Association (EMA) licensed an antiviral agent known as tecovirimat, that was developed for smallpox. 

"This monkeypox outbreak has been a wake-up call for us, because we need to prepare ourselves for deadly outbreaks all the time," Dr Swaminathan was quoted as saying in an NDTV report. 

What Is Monkeypox?

Monkeypox is a rare zoonotic disease (infectious disease that is transmitted between species from animals to humans or from humans to animals) caused by infection with monkeypox virus, and does not spread easily between people. Most people recover from monkeypox within a few weeks as it is usually a mild self-limiting illness. However, some individuals can suffer from severe illness. 

The monkeypox virus belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus in the family Poxviridae, and was first discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research. 

The Orthopoxvirus genus includes variola virus, which causes smallpox, vaccinia virus, which is used in the smallpox vaccine, and cowpox virus.

More Data About Monkeypox Vaccine Required, Says Dr Swaminathan

Dr Swaminathan said that it may be useful to use the smallpox vaccine for monkeypox but more laboratory data is required. 

"The vaccine we have today for smallpox, the second and third generation vaccines, but there are very limited doses. Countries have been stockpiling these vaccines in case there is a smallpox outbreak, biological or accidental," Dr Swaminathan said. 

Denmark-based company Bavarian Nordic's Imvanex has received approval from the EMA to be marketed as protection against monkeypox, media reports said. 

Since there is no efficacy data about the vaccine, Dr Swaminathan said there is an "urgent need to collect data". 

According to the NDTV report, the WHO Chief Scientist said that Indian pharmaceutical companies including the Serum Institute of India (SII) could have a role in bottling, marketing, and distributing the existing smallpox vaccine if it were widely available. 

"We have been talking about a pandemic preparedness and one of the things is how quickly we can scale up manufacturing. India will play a very important role just because of the capacity we have. So yes, Bavarian Nordic has 16 million doses, which is part of the US stockpile. The US has donated some of those doses to some other countries... so something we need to explore is if we can get the fill and finish done for example at SII (Pune-based Serum Institute of India), but if we also can transfer technology and start the manufacturing in other sites," Dr Swaminathan told NDTV.

Can Monkeypox Be More Severe Than New Mutant Strain Of Covid-19?

Replying to a question on whether monkeypox can be more severe than the new mutant strain of Covid-19, the WHO Chief Scientist said there can be no straight comparison.

She explained that it is clear that monkeypox is a different virus and will not mutate at the same rate as SARS-CoV-2. 

Dr Swaminathan added that sequencing needs to be performed, and the data must be shared globally. She said that at the moment, the monkeypox outbreak should be prevented from becoming a pandemic, and that it has been "caught'' early. 

Latest Monkeypox Developments

Over 16,000 monkeypox infections have been confirmed in 68 countries as of July 22, 2022, with most infections occurring in men who are in a sexual relationship with men. The WHO declared the current monkeypox epidemic a global health emergency on July 23. 

A large majority of monkeypox infections have been observed in men who are involved in sexual activity with multiple men, media reports said. The average number of persons infected with monkeypox by a single infected person is between 1.4 and 1.8 in men having sex with men, models presented to the WHO suggest.

In other populations, the average number of persons infected by a single person is less than one. 

The first monkeypox case was confirmed in Delhi on July 24, after a 34-year-old man tested positive for the monkeypox virus. The rate of increase in new monkeypox cases has been slowing down in Europe in recent weeks, with the large majority of infections still occurring in men involved in sexual activity with other men. 

About 97 per cent of the monkeypox cases in the United Kingdom have been reported in men who have sex with other men.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a media briefing last week that for the moment, monkeypox is an “outbreak that is concentrated among men who have sex with men”.

According to a new study, the current spread of the monkeypox virus disproportionately affects gay and bisexual men. About 98 per cent of the people infected with monkeypox virus belong to the communities of gay and bisexual men.