Covid-19 caught the world unprepared, with no drugs or vaccines at the ready. Monkeypox, however, is in an entirely different—and lesser—league
countries are reporting cases of monkeypox, a rare viral illness typically found in parts of Africa. On May 7th Britain reported a case in a traveller from Nigeria. By May 20th America, Australia, Canada and at least eight European countries had reported dozens of confirmed or suspected cases. Britain reported 11 new cases on May 20th, more than the total in the previous two weeks. Many have no links to African travel, which means they were transmitted locally.
A vaccine for monkeypox developed by Bavarian Nordic, a Danish biotechnology firm, was approved by American regulators in 2019. The vaccine is also approved for smallpox and data from Africa suggest that past smallpox vaccination is at least 85% effective in preventing monkeypox. America’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says the jab is most useful if given before or within four days of exposure to the virus.
The tricky part is diagnosis. A monkeypox rash looks a lot like chickenpox. Confirming it requires sending samples to a specialist laboratory equipped to handle highly dangerous pathogens. At the moment, Britain has only one rare-pathogens laboratory designated to run tests for monkeypox.
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