So, is Monkeypox dangerous enough to become a global pandemic like COVID?
Up until May of this year, when the international organizations declared an outbreak of this virus, it was a rare disease. As we reported, it was first discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of a pox-like illness occurred in colonies of monkeys, which were kept for research. Despite its name, the source of the disease is still unknown. The first human case of Monkeypox was recorded in 1970, and since then, it has been endemic to several Central and Western African countries.
Nearly all monkeypox cases in people outside of Africa were linked to international travel to countries where the disease commonly occurs or through imported animals. But, it is now a global health concern, and just seven days ago, the World Health Organization's representatives reported that 9,200 cases were confirmed in 63 countries.
Today, the press asked Dr. Diaz-Musa if Monkeypox can reach the scale of the impact that COVID-19 has had worldwide. Here's her response:
Reporter
"What's the possibility or the chances of this disease being deemed to be a pandemic level?"
Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa - Director, Public Health & Wellness
"Well, that's difficult to say. I mean, W.H.O. would make a decision at that point when it comes to depending on the criteria that it still feels of how many countries this has in fact, been diagnosed in and how quickly it is spreading. Then W.H.O. would make a decision and determine whether it's a pandemic or not. As I said, they had to have 6027 cases, but 80% of these cases are in the continent of Europe. Well, there is no definitive reason or link that we have why it has spread. But the hypotheses from experts are saying that perhaps during the COVID lockdown, there was some kind of spread that had gone undetected due to all our resources and due to the lockdown, due to the emphasis that the health systems have placed on COVID. Other diseases may have been transmitted and moving around without us being able to detect them early. So, of course, we've got to keep in mind as well that, you know, travel has become much easier over a few years. We've had the lockdown. We don't know what situations occurred in these countries that were endemic during the lockdown. And then when travel started to, you know, reopen in the last year or so, that's more than likely when the spread began. But it took a while to pick it up because, of course, we remain in the pandemic, and a lot of the resources globally have been geared towards controlling this pandemic."
The Ministry of Health and Wellness will continue to monitor monkeypox closely in anticipation that it may only e a matter of time before it is detected in Belize.
