Is monkeypox the next COVID-19?

Will monkeypox bring on the next pandemic? (Photo: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Last May 21, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a multi-country monkeypox outbreak in 12 non-endemic countries.

Monkeypox is very similar to smallpox, though less severe with poxes resolving themselves in two to three weeks. However, it can be more dangerous in young children, pregnant women, and people with weak immune systems. 

Initial symptoms include fever, chills, exhaustion, headache, and muscle weakness. Swollen lymph nodes set monkeypox apart from smallpox, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). After that, a rash may develop on the face and body, including the inside of the mouth, the palms, and soles.

As of Saturday, there have been 92 confirmed and 28 suspected cases. With no travel history to endemic countries in the African region, most of these reported cases across three WHO regions, namely the US, the EU, and Australia, point to local transmission.

"Not COVID-two"

Monkeypox is primarily a virus transmitted from humans to animals, with an incubation period of 5 to 21 days. Human-to-human transmission is believed to be caused by close contact with symptomatic cases. This means being careful of lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets, and contaminated materials like clothes and beddings from infected persons. 

So yes, it’s also airborne like COVID. And no, it isn’t primarily a sexually transmitted disease like HIV, despite what popular media insinuates. 

But is it going to drive the next pandemic, and therefore cause more lockdowns and mass alarm? Experts say not really.

"It's not as contagious as COVID. So I am confident we're going to be able to keep our arms around it," said Dr. Ashish Jha, COVID-19 response coordinator for the White House. Another upside is that symptoms manifest physically (Who could miss it?), which can make tracking—and containing—the virus much easier.

“We're in a very new situation, that is a surprise and a worry," said Prof. Sir Peter Horby, the director of the University of Oxford's Pandemic Sciences Institute, but it’s "not COVID-two.”

It’s not fatal either.

“We need to act," Horby said, emphasizing that the virus must be stopped before it gains a foothold as it’s "something we really want to avoid.”

Are there treatments for monkeypox?

So, does this call for another vaccine for monkeypox? Yes and no.

One vaccine, MVA-BN, and one specific treatment, tecovirimat, were approved for monkeypox in 2019 and 2022 respectively, though these aren’t widely available yet.

The smallpox vaccine has proven to be effective enough against monkeypox, but worldwide drives for these stopped by the 80s along with the world’s last known smallpox cases. This means only people aged 40 and up can have hybrid immunity at present. Still, that’s one more ready cure and precaution in the bag.