OSUN, Nigeria (AP) — As health authorities in Europe and elsewhere distribute vaccines and drugs to end the largest monkeypox outbreak outside of Africa, some doctors are acknowledging an ugly reality: Resources to stem the spread of the disease have been available for a long time, but not to Africans who have dealt with it for decades.
Countries including Britain, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, the United States, Israel and Australia have recorded more than 500 cases of monkeypox, many of them apparently related to sexual activity at two recent parties in Europe. No deaths have been reported.
Authorities in many European countries and the United States are offering to immunize people and are considering the use of antivirals. On Thursday, the World Health Organization will convene a special meeting to discuss research priorities on monkeypox and other related issues.
Meanwhile, the African continent has seen three times as many cases this year.
There have been more than 1,400 cases of monkeypox and 63 deaths in four countries where the disease is endemic — Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo and Nigeria — according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So far, sequencing has not shown any direct link to the outbreak outside of Africa, according to health authorities.
Monkeypox belongs to the same family of viruses as human smallpox, and monkeypox vaccines are estimated to be about 85% effective, according to the WHO.
Since cases were detected earlier this month, Britain has vaccinated more than 1,000 people at risk of the virus and bought a further 20,000 doses. European Union authorities are in talks to buy more smallpox vaccine from Bavarian Nordic, the maker of the only licensed vaccine of its kind in Europe.
US authorities have distributed some 700 doses of vaccine to states where cases have been reported.
These measures are not commonly used in Africa.
Dr. Adesola Yinka-Ogunleye, who leads Nigeria’s monkeypox task force, said that no monkeypox vaccines or antivirals are currently used in her country. People suspected of having the disease are isolated and treated conservatively, while their contacts are monitored, she said.
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Cheng reported in London. Cara Anna in Nairobi and Mike Stobbe in New York contributed to this report.
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