According to Xinhuanet, on July 23 local time, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that the multi-country monkeypox outbreak constitutes a “public health emergency of international concern”. This is the highest level of alert issued by the WHO. Since 2022, more than 16,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox have been reported in 75 countries and regions around the world, and there have been 5 deaths.
And after WHO issued the highest level of alert on monkeypox outbreak, many The country has successively upgraded its response policies. Among them, the White House of the United States is considering whether to declare monkeypox a public health emergency; Japan issued a level 1 infectious disease risk alert on July 25, and Japan discovered the first confirmed case of monkeypox in the country that day. The General Administration of Customs of China also issued the “Announcement on Preventing the Introduction of Monkeypox into my country” on July 25.
In the face of the monkeypox epidemic approaching China’s doorstep, 1.4 billion people have a common concern, that is, whether monkeypox will be introduced into China and not. Caused an epidemic? In this regard, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, issued a document on the 25th saying that the monkeypox epidemic will not cause a large-scale epidemic in my country.
Wu Zunyou said that the main source of infection of monkeypox is monkeys, chimpanzees, humans and other rodents and spirits infected with monkeypox virus. long animals. The monkeypox virus invades the human body through mucous membranes and damaged skin. Humans are mainly infected by contact with the exudates, blood, and other body fluids of infected animals, or by being bitten or scratched by infected animals.
He said, “Human-to-person transmission is mainly through close contact, and contact is Virus-contaminated items may also be infected, and can also be transmitted vertically through the placenta. Droplet transmission has yet to be further confirmed, but it will not be transmitted through aerosols.” He said that monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted disease in history, but European and American countries About 95% of the reported cases are infected with monkeypox through sexual activity, with men who have sex with men being at the highest risk of contracting monkeypox.
Wu Zunyou said that to prevent monkeypox, firstly, avoid contact with infected animals, and secondly, avoid direct contact with infected people as much as possible. “According to the main mode of transmission of this monkeypox epidemic, avoiding close contact with people who may be from the epidemic area is an important preventive measure.”
About whether the monkeypox virus will be re-infected, Wu Zunyou said that there is currently 1 case report of re-infection after being infected with the monkeypox virus. It is still unclear how long the immune protection after infection with monkeypox virus lasts. Previous studies in monkeypox-endemic areas in Africa have shown that the smallpox vaccine is about 85% effective in preventing monkeypox.