Monkey acne epidemic highlights the global medical and health gap

Xinhua News Agency, London, July 24 (International Observation) Monkey Acne epidemic highlights the global medical and health gap

Xinhua News Agency reporter Guo Shuang

Since May this year, the epidemic of the monkey acne has emerged in Europe and the United States and has spread to the world. The World Health Organization Director -General Tan Desai announced on July 23 that the epidemic of the monkey acne has constituted "an international public health incident."

In fact, monkey acne has been popular in Africa for at least ten years. Some public health experts have pointed out that the world is "paying a price" in a timely manner in the African acne epidemic in a timely manner. More importantly, not just monkey acne. Medical and hygiene gaps between developed countries and developing countries are becoming increasingly prominent.

The "emergencies" that have been ignored for many years

The British "Nature" magazine recently pointed out in an article that for a long time, African researchers have continued to warn monkey acne virus to spread in new ways and have a broader potential risk, but have been ignored by Western countries.

The current global blocked monkey acne epidemic has made Adessora Inka Inka-Oinlayer, an epidemiologist at the Nigerian Disease Control Center. Before the large -scale monkey acne epidemic outbreak of Nigeria in 2017, this kind of viral human and animals appeared in rural areas, and some hunters in contact with animals were the main infections. After 2017, Inka-Omon Laye issued a warning with other epidemiologists: Monkey acne virus began to spread in an unfamiliar way. It has appeared in the city. Transmission through sexual contact.

Monkey acne virus now seems to be spreading globally through close contact with sexual partners. Because Ka Benlaye believes that the world is paying for the "fully reaction to the African Monkey epidemic."

In early May of this year, there was a case of diagnostic diagnosis in the United Kingdom, and more European and American countries successively reported monkey acne cases. The latest data released by the WHO on the 23rd shows that since this year, 75 countries and regions around the world have reported to the organization more than 16,000 cases of acne, of which 5 cases of death. Death cases are from Africa.

Di Mi Ogisner, a member of the Emergency Committee of the WHO and a professor of medical professor of the Nigeriani River Delta University, pointed out that the number of deaths in the African region in Africa is likely to be underestimated due to the limited detection and monitoring capabilities.

A huge epidemic response

Both monkey acne virus and smallpox virus belong to acne virus. Since the WHO announced in 1980 that humans have completely eliminated smallpox, monkey acne virus has become the most affected acne virus that has the greatest impact on public health. Jason Murust, a virusist who studied monkey acne at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency that developed countries and developing countries showed huge inequality in fighting the epidemic of the monkey acne.

At the beginning of the British epidemic, a small ceiling vaccine that also had a certain utility also had a certain utility for monkey acne virus. In early June, monkey acne was listed as a legal infectious disease that it should be reported. The United States and the European Union have also ordered vaccines to prevent monkey acne and block virus transmission.

"But for many years, some China Africa and West Africa have been outbreaks of monkey acne. In places where those infected with the largest number of diseases, they cannot provide this (vaccine) resource, which makes African researchers frustrated there." Nature "Magazine commented in the above article.

Many African researchers have pointed out that the case of monkey acne in the south of Sahara has continued to rise over the years. Some reasons for the elimination of smallpox vaccination after eliminating the ceiling, but some Western countries have been reserving ceiling vaccines, and these vaccines can help Africa responds to monkey acne epidemic.

Some experts are worried that it may be an exacerbation of the vaccine disputes that the monkey acne epidemic is "internationally concerned the emergencies of the international concern". A large number of vaccines in rich countries have occurred again, which leads to the issue of global medical inequality.

"Obviously, just like when dealing with the new crown epidemic, the vaccine inequality between Europe and Africa occurred again when dealing with the epidemic of monkey acne." Murser said.

The increasingly prominent medical and health gap

Ogisa is frustrated and worried that the current epidemic will not improve the situation in Africa. Different cases of acne cases that have correlation behavior and intimate contact with developed countries, the infection path of African monkey acne cases is mainly exposed to animals infected with monkey acne virus.

"It is only unreasonable to control the (monkey acne) epidemic that appears in Europe and the United States, because the epidemic spreads in Africa caused by the source of the (animal)." He said that if the African epidemic "still cannot attract world attention, many solutions still only only cause only solutions. Can solve European problems, not Africa. "

More importantly, not just monkey acne.

Micheido Muetti, director of the African region, said at an online press conference held at the Congo (Bu) capital in the Congo (Bu) on July 14 that from 2012 to 2022, the outbreak of human and animal diseases in Africa in Africa The number increased by 63%compared with 2001 to 2011.

The British "Medical Poverty Alleviation Action" organization is committed to improving extreme inequality in the global medical and health field. The organization's CEO Martin Duli told reporters from Xinhua News Agency that the inequality between developed countries and developing countries is obvious. Over the years, viruses such as acne and Ebola have basically not attracted people's attention in Africa. When these viruses pose a threat to countries with more resources and wealth in the world, resources were immediately mobilized to respond to the spread of the epidemic.

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