Doctors explained if the threat of monkeypox epidemic

Cases of monkeypox in Russia are isolated, imported, and there is no pandemic threat to the country, including St. Petersburg. This was told by Doctor of Biological Sciences, Head of the Department of Anatomy and Physiology of Man and Animals of the Faculty of Biology of A. I. Herzen Ekaterin Nikitin.

According to the expert, monkeypox has traditionally been considered an animal-related infection. The first cases of transmission of the virus from person to person recorded only in the XXI century. Previously, outbreaks have mainly occurred in Africa, where humans were infected by monkeys, and in the United States in 2003, when the source of infection was meadow dogs that came into contact with African rats.

Ekaterina Nikitina stressed that currently cases of monkeypox in Russia are imported. The first people infected this year came from Thailand. The expert recalled the need for vigilance when traveling to other countries, especially to Africa, where there is a risk of encountering viruses unknown to Europeans, for which there are no vaccines.

The monkeypox virus is transmitted by contact and airborne droplets. However, due to isolated cases and the imported nature of the infection, a serious threat of a pandemic for St. Petersburg and Russia as a whole should not be expected, especially given the climatic conditions.

A specific vaccine against monkeypox does not yet exist, but relevant developments are underway in Russia. It should be noted that in the neighboring Republic of Karelia, no cases of infection were detected, while in St. Petersburg, 4 cases of the disease were recorded.