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Round-up of Monkeypox news.

Posted on 4th June 2022

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According to this report on Gizmodo there are now over 1,000 cases of monkeypox in two dozen countries (179 in the UK alone, according to this report on the BBC). More alarming is that two distinct strains (variants) have been detected in the USA, which suggests two different sources for the infections.

The rate of spread (far higher than was detected for Covid-19, although the symptoms of monkeypox are much more obvious), the fact that it is spreading way beyond the normal geography of monkeypox and the new feature of spreading via sex all suggest that we should be worried. It is starting to look as if monkeypox could turn into a pandemic.

This report on The Atlantic says that we should have seen this outbreak coming, since the warning signs were all there five years ago: spreading to new areas (Nigeria) and spreading through sexual contact. It seems that, as usual, no-one listened to the scientists.

I am not particularly worried for myself, as I was vaccinated against smallpox as a child, which gives fairly good protection against monkeypox, but the younger generations have no such protections. I will definitely get a monkeypox vaccination when it becomes generally available.