This Wednesday, Belgium recorded 224 cases of monkeypox, which is 56 more than last week. Figures that worry Marc Van Ranst. On his Twitter account, he confessed that “the problem is not under control”. Before continuing. “This acceleration may be partly explained by better awareness and availability of laboratory diagnostics, but it certainly does not explain everything.”
For the virologist, it is now imperative to vaccinate people whose risk of contamination is high. “It would be better if the groups that are currently most at risk of infection are now vaccinated as a preventive measure. If the epidemic spreads to the rest of the population, we will have missed an opportunity to stem it.”
A lack of vaccines in Europe
For Marc Van Ranst, the major concern in Europe remains vaccination. “The problem is that there are not enough vaccines available in Europe. Large deliveries are going to Canada and the United States (where monkeypox is also on the rise, but to a lesser extent than in many many European countries) Vaccines should not lie unnecessarily in warehouses in countries that are not at the epicenter of the epidemic, but should be used immediately to contain the epidemic, because infections are concentrated in clusters at risk more or less well defined”.
The KUL virologist therefore wants to solve the problem, as long as it is still possible. “If we don’t tackle the problem of monkeypox on a global scale now, we will say later, ‘If only we had…’ And that would be a shame.”