No sweat, we’ve got this. That’s what we thought when the monkeypox outbreak emerged in May. After all, as an orthopoxvirus, it’s similar to smallpox and so we already have a vaccine — two, in fact. There is also a treatment, it’s generally not deadly, and, as a DNA virus (as opposed to an RNA one like SARS-CoV-2), it’s unlikely to mutate much.
But monkeypox has proved more stubborn than many thought, and governments have been slow to roll out vaccines. We spoke about the reasons why we must stay vigilant.
Therese Raphael: A third monkeypox case in a U.S. child was just reported in New York state. And a dog in Paris caught monkeypox from one of its owners, suggesting the virus can spread from humans to animals. But last month the World Health Organization figures were pretty clear that more than 99% of the cases they tracked in a handful of countries came from men having sex with men. What’s going on now? Should we be more worried?
