Beware, the risk level of the monkeypox epidemic has increased, and the vaccine production is insufficient

The transmission risk level has been raised in Europe, and the production of monkeypox vaccines is insufficient and needs to be increased.

The World Health Organization urges increased production of monkeypox vaccines, and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control raises the infection risk level.

The monkeypox epidemic situation is severe, Europe raises the risk level, and vaccine production urgently needs to be increased.

In August 2024, the monkeypox epidemic attracted global attention. On August 14, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced that the monkeypox epidemic constitutes a "public health emergency of international concern".

According to a communique issued by the World Health Organization on August 14, a more lethal new strain of the monkeypox virus is spreading rapidly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and has spread to African countries such as Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. This new strain is a variant of the "Branch I" of the monkeypox virus, "Branch Ib", which has been spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since September last year.

On August 15, the Public Health Agency of Sweden issued a communique stating that a patient in the Stockholm region was diagnosed with the monkeypox "Branch I" strain. This is the first confirmed case of infection with this strain outside the African continent. The patient had traveled to Africa.

On August 16, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control raised the risk level of sporadic monkeypox cases in the European Union from "low" to "medium", and raised the overall monkeypox infection risk in the EU from "very low" to "low", and requested European countries to remain highly vigilant of travelers from affected areas. Pamela Lendi Wagner, the director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, said that given the close ties between Europe and Africa, preparations must be made for more imported cases.

In addition, Pakistani health officials disclosed on August 16 that at least three confirmed cases of monkeypox virus infection have been found in the country in the past two days. These are the first confirmed cases of monkeypox infection in Pakistan this year.

In the face of the monkeypox epidemic, on August 16, the World Health Organization urged vaccine manufacturers to increase the production of monkeypox vaccines to control the spread of more dangerous monkeypox strains. Margaret Harris, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization, publicly stated: "We do need manufacturers to increase production so that we can get more vaccines." At the same time, the World Health Organization also requests countries with monkeypox vaccine reserves to donate vaccines to affected areas.

Bronwen Nickol, a senior official in charge of public health emergencies at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, pointed out that most vaccine reserves are in wealthy countries, and the vaccines sent to Africa so far are "just a drop in the bucket". Across the African continent, there is an extreme shortage of monkeypox virus testing, treatment methods, and vaccines, which seriously hinders the local ability to control the epidemic.

Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease. The initial symptoms of human monkeypox infection include fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, and swollen lymph nodes, which can later develop into extensive rashes on the face and body. Most infected people recover within a few weeks, but some have severe illness or even death.