The world could be sleepwalking into another pandemic if it does not take the risks of mpox seriously, according to a global health expert at the University of St Andrews.
With the first case of a new strain of mpox (formerly known as monkey pox) detected in the UK, Dr Wilber Sabiti, a senior research scientist at St Andrews School of Medicine and expert in global health and infectious diseases, is calling for a speed-up of production and approval of the vaccine.
How the new variant is transmitted is still not yet fully understood and this, along with vaccine delays and lack of funding for research, could result in a situation that is not dissimilar to the start of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) breakout.
Dr Sabiiti and colleagues are already noting an uptick in the spread of mpox in African countries. Between January and October 2024, around 7500 cases were reported in Africa, of which over 2000 were added in September alone. The rapid growth in cases has been linked with the emergence of clade1b, the most transmissible mpox variant.
According to Dr Sabiiti, the failure to control the spread is two-fold. He said: "Initial access to vaccines has been curtailed due to limited global production and a complex vaccine approval process."
In response to the spread in African countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) in August 2024 under the International Health regulations (2005) (IHR).
Dr Sabiti said: "Hearing- or reading- about mpox does not make one appreciate the magnitude or devastation of the disease. As a Co-Chair of the mpox symposium organised by the Interdisciplinary Consortium for Epidemic Research (ICER) in October, I was shocked to see images of mpox patients and hear first-hand stories by responders on the frontline. Images revealed that mpox can affect any part of the human body with devastating impact."
Poor response to the mpox situation in Africa, along with vaccine delays and lack of funding into research, could result in a situation that is not dissimilar to the start of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) breakout.
Dr Sabiti said: "Like COVID-19, there was no imagination that the mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) would soon be spreading to neighbours and knocking at doors in the global north. The longer we take to learn, the more epidemics will catch us off guard."
According to the WHO, common symptoms of mpox are a skin rash or mucosal lesions which can last 2-4 weeks accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes. However, field reports from DRC show the symptoms can be worse and very devastating to the victims.
