Test tubes labeled “Monkeypox virus positive” are seen in this illustration taken May 22, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

LONDON, June 2 (Reuters) – As cases of monkeypox in wealthier Western countries spark a wave of scientific research to tackle the outbreak, scientists are urging the world to ensure low-income countries also benefit fruits of this labor.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 550 confirmed cases of monkeypox have been reported from at least 30 countries outside of Africa, where the virus is commonly present.

Scientists are puzzled as to what is driving the current crop of cases – mostly identified in Europe so far – given that they are mostly unrelated to travel to Africa.

Countries in Africa have experienced sporadic outbreaks of monkeypox since the virus was first discovered in humans in 1970.

In Nigeria, there has been an ongoing outbreak since 2017, which has so far resulted in 600 suspected cases and nearly 250 confirmed cases, Ifedayo Adetifa, director general of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, told a briefing. on monkeypox convened by the WHO on Thursday. .

The biopharmaceutical industry has pledged in recent weeks to provide vaccines, treatments and develop more diagnostics to fight monkeypox as the viral disease spreads in many parts of the developed world.

“We have to recognize that this is not a new disease – it’s not something that we just learned about around the world,” said Daniel Bausch, senior director, emerging threats and global health security at FIND, the global diagnostic alliance.

“We now have all this interest in biotechnology because it’s happening in high-income countries. But how do we make sure that…these scientific gains really reach the people who need them more consistently in sub-Saharan Africa?” He asked.

The comment comes as concern grows about pathogens that commonly circulate in animals and spread to humans.

Animals and humans are changing their behavior, including their foraging habits to adapt to rapidly changing weather conditions linked to climate change, the WHO warned on Wednesday.

This suggests that pathogens that were once generally restricted to certain geographic areas are more likely to spread further and potentially move back and forth between humans and susceptible animal species.

On Thursday, some health experts raised concerns about the transmission of monkeypox and other infectious diseases to animals via human medical waste.

They warned that constant vigilance and global cooperation were imperative to thwart the current outbreak of monkeypox.

It’s important to limit the number of spillover events, said William Karesh, chair of the World Organization for Animal Health’s wildlife task force.

“If we just focus on treatments,” he said, “we’ll probably see each other again in two years about a new disease.”

Reporting by Natalie Grover in London and Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Berkrot

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