Monkeypox: More than 50,000 cases, 16 deaths reported in 2022, says WHO

• 40% of incidents among people living with HIV
• Over one million gonorrhoea, syphilis, other infections daily worldwide

More than 50,000 monkeypox cases and 16 deaths have been reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) since the outbreak began earlier this year, said Director General of the global health watchdog, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

In his remarks at the ‘Monkeypox Outbreak: Virtual Dialogue Between Affected Communities and WHO Leadership’ in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday, Ghebreyesus said the number of cases reported this year eclipse the number reported since monkeypox was first identified in 1958 – although there has been significant underreporting in Africa.

He said until earlier this year, few people outside Africa and the public health community had even heard of monkeypox.

“In just a few months, it has become a household word. Although mortality is thankfully very low, many of those infected report severe pain that sometimes requires hospitalisation to manage,” he said.

WHO said the vast majority of cases – more than 95 per cent, are among men who have sex with men, with a median age of 36. And among cases where Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) status is known, about 40 per cent of reported monkeypox cases are among people who are also living with HIV.

Ghebreyesus, however, said more information is needed from more countries on how these conditions interact.

On testing, he said only Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests are available, and many countries can’t access them.
According to him, WHO is in touch with a number of manufacturers that are developing rapid tests, which would be a timely new tool.

On treatment, Ghebreyesus said WHO holds a small reserve of the antiviral. tecovirimat, which it will supply to countries on request for compassionate use, under certain circumstances.

He said WHO is also in discussions with SIGA Technologies over a donation of doses under a WHO protocol for ethical use of experimental treatments.

“We’re working to ensure that as these antivirals are used, evidence is collected via clinical trials or standardised study designs to evaluate safety and efficacy in humans,” he said.

Ghebreyesus added: “On vaccines, I was pleased, last week, that WHO’s Regional Office for the Americas signed an agreement with Bavarian Nordic to support access to that company’s vaccine in Latin America and the Caribbean.

“We’re also in touch with Japan about a donation of approximately 100,000 vaccine doses for research, with the potential for donations in the future.

“It is encouraging to see progress, but there are clear challenges both in terms of production capacity and developing clinical evidence quickly.”

Meanwhile, latest figures from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) showed that there were 57 new suspected cases reported in week 32, 2022 from 19 states: Lagos (17), Ogun (six), Abia (five), Benue (three), Edo (three), Gombe (three), FCT (three), Rivers (three), Bayelsa (two), Borno (two), Ondo (two), Anambra (one), Cross River (one), Ekiti (one), Imo (one), Katsina (one), Nasarawa (one), Osun (one) and Oyo (one).