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dr Anthony Fauci, the White House chief medical adviser, cautioned against making assumptions about the global monkeypox outbreak, citing decisions made in the early days of the HIV-AIDS epidemic.
In an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Fauci and Dr. H. Clifford Lane that the emerging epidemiological pattern of cases bears a “stunning resemblance” to early cases of HIV/AIDS — including most monkeypox cases in this outbreak were found in men who have sex with men.
The virus typically spreads through direct contact between the lesion and the skin, and the researchers noted that evidence supports transmission requiring prolonged or repeated exposure.
People can also become infected through contact with infected clothing or bedding.
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dr Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, takes his seat on Capitol Hill for a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on Thursday, November 4, 2021 in Washington, DC
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
In particular, health officials have stressed that the virus is not considered a sexually transmitted infection, although men at high risk of the disease are advised to reduce the number of their sexual partners and refrain from group or anonymous sex.
During the HIV-AIDS pandemic, the two realized that the microorganism that causes the disease was unknown and, unlike today, countermeasures such as vaccines were not available.
“Given how little we know about the epidemiological features of the current outbreak, it is prudent to note an observation made in the first year of the HIV/AIDS pandemic: ‘…any assumption that it is specific to a segment of our Society will remain limited is really an assumption with no scientific basis.’ Therefore, additional detailed epidemiological and observational cohort studies, serosurveys, and ongoing surveillance of new cases are critical,” urged Fauci and Lane, who serve as NIAID associate director of clinical research and special projects. Fauci is leaving his position as senior White House medical adviser and NIAID director in December.
This 2003 electron micrograph, provided by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shows mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virions (left) and spherical immature virions (right) isolated from a sample of human skin associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak.
(Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regner/CDC via AP)
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They said the challenge for the future is to ensure efficient and equitable availability and distribution of countermeasures, as well as conducting rigorous studies needed to define clinical efficacy, identify potential safety concerns, and guide proper use.
“The lessons learned during the responses to AIDS and COVID-19 should help us organize a more efficient and effective response to monkeypox, and the response to monkeypox, in turn, should help inform our response to the inevitable next emerging or recurring infectious disease.” with pandemic potential,” the couple concluded.
dr Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease expert, wears a face mask during the White House COVID-19 response team’s regular call with the National Governors Association in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus Monday, December 27, 2021 in Washington, DC
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are nearly 17,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox and orthopoxviruses in the US and 46,724 cases worldwide.
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The number of cases reported worldwide fell by 21% in the last week, according to the World Health Organization.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
