So far, the number of cases of monkeypox virus in the Middle East, during the last outbreak that occurred about three weeks ago, has not exceeded nine cases, eight of them in the UAE and one case in Morocco. 'Biosynthesis' of a new strain of the virus, more likely to spread, with more severe symptoms.
Despite the messages of reassurance sent by the World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean during its press conference on May 26, confirming that no genetic change was detected from the ancient virus discovered in West Africa in 1958, this was not convincing for the apprehensive to close the door of concern, and they found what they wanted. This time in questioning whether the region had the laboratory capabilities that helped it to detect infections.
Khaled Bayoumi commented on his Facebook page, identifying himself as a pharmacist at the Egyptian Ministry of Health: "Don't you see that the presence of cases in the UAE only is an indication of the clear discrepancy between the countries of the region in laboratory capabilities?"
Bayoumi's comment brought in many supporters; He was skeptical, but Sherine Al-Nasiri - the medical officer of the Infection Risk Preparedness and Prevention Unit at the WHO Regional Office - responded with numbers, to SciDev.Net , to all the fearful and skeptical.
Sherine compared the laboratory capabilities two and a half years ago, when the Covid-19 pandemic invaded the region, and the situation now, and said: “There is no doubt that the response to the pandemic has developed the capabilities of the countries of the region in the field of preparedness, preparedness and response, including laboratory capabilities.”
She added: “It is sufficient to know that before the pandemic, the number of laboratory centers capable of performing human genome sequencing did not exceed 40 laboratories, and the number has now reached nearly 650 laboratories covering all countries of the Region, which makes the Region more prepared to respond to monkeypox.”
And if the numbers mentioned by Sherine indicate how the pandemic has turned from a plight to a grant, there are other comments that see the pandemic still a major ordeal that will have an impact on the ability of health systems to deal with the new threat of monkeypox.
Munther Al-Werfalli, a young university student from Libya, says on his Facebook page: “We are still suffering from the Covid-19 pandemic, and monkeypox is coming. How will hospitals deal with this additional risk, with the small number of doctors and nursing teams?”
Sherine insists on the positive side of the pandemic, noting that there is a big difference between monkeypox and “Covid-19”; It is not usual for the first to spread easily between people, because it requires close physical contact with the infected person, unlike the second, which means that monkeypox will not cause pressure on health systems, so the disease can be contained by adopting healthy behavior.