2023-05-25 19:20:42
Bouchra Nasri, professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Montreal
Last year, Canada experienced its first major outbreak of monkeypox – or pox – in the wake of the spread of the disease all over the world. Zoonoses that in the past were confined to a specific geographic region are increasingly becoming global health emergencies.
“Before 2022, the viral disease that is mpox was largely ignored by the international community, underlines Bouchra Nasri, professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Montreal. However, when it started to spread in many countries and an epidemic broke out, it became an international public health emergency.”
On May 24, the Government of Canada announced an investment of $6.35 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to support the national or international work of 13 monkeypox research teams and other zoonotic threats. This new investment reflects the continued risk of disease transmission and the threat posed by other zoonoses in Canada and around the world.
The current epidemic has also had a particular impact on the community of gay, bisexual and men who have sex with men or gbMSM community (for gay, bisexual and other men-who-have-sex-with-men).
Professor Nasri, a specialist in the modeling of infectious diseases, and her team have therefore submitted a research project to study the problem and which is one of the 13 funded projects. The team will be able to count on funding of $412,000 over two years to establish an epidemiological model of monkeypox that takes behavioral changes into account.
The influence of human behavior
The modeling will be developed from scientific literature and data collected in near real time on the dominant behaviors towards the disease and members of the gbMSM community on social networks.
“It is important to understand the modes of transmission of infectious diseases such as mpox, but it is equally crucial to analyze the influence of human behavior on the dynamics of diseases, argues Bouchra Nasri. Reducing its spread requires understanding how people react to information about the disease and how changes in behavior elicited by this reaction can interfere with public health strategies.”
Furthermore, for Professor Nasri’s team, the disproportionate impact of monkeypox in the gbMSM community suggests that other behavioral issues need to be considered. In particular, stigmatizing attitudes may translate into greater reluctance for people in the gbMSM community to seek public health services and influence public opinion about the disease.
In the process, the project provides for the creation of a community advisory committee composed of experts and members of the gbMSM community in order to develop strategies adapted to the reality of this community and to quickly make the results of this research known to a large audience.
About mpox and CIHR investments
Last December, the CIHR Center for Pandemic and Health Emergencies Preparedness Research and the International Development Research Center invested $5.5M in 2 monkeypox research projects in Canada and in Africa. On May 24, CIHR provided additional funding of $6.35M to support 13 research projects.
The 13 research projects focus on smallpox vaccine efficacy, vaccination campaigns and mitigation strategies, detection of possible mammalian hosts of the mpox virus, and the development of mathematical models of zoonotic disease transmission. .
According to information provided by the CIHR, the disease has spread in 2022 outside its endemic zone, in several regions of the world, including Canada. This triggered a global mobilization and showed the need for further research on this virus. The first human case was detected in Africa in 1970.
A zoonosis, such as monkeypox, is an infectious disease that is transmitted from animals to humans. Zoonotic pathogens can spread to humans through direct contact or through food, water, or the environment. Previous zoonotic outbreaks include swine flu, Middle East respiratory syndrome and COVID-19.
On July 23, 2022, the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern. As of April 28, 2023, the total number of confirmed cases of the disease in Canada was 1,484, with Ontario and Quebec topping the list. Nearly 87,000 cases have been confirmed globally.
At CIHR, 11 of the monkeypox research projects will be supported by the Center for Pandemic and Health Emergencies Preparedness Research and 2 by the HIV/AIDS and Other STBBIs (Infections sexually transmitted and blood-borne).
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