Will Monkeypox Cause Another Pandemic?

By: Liu von Engelbrechten

In May 2022, the first outbreak of a non-endemic monkeypox was seen in the United Kingdom. Since then, it has spread to the US through international travel and imported animals. Recently, a new spike in cases caused the director of the World Health Organization to declare it a public health emergency of international concern. As of now, zero people have died in the US from monkeypox, and less than 10 people worldwide. However, the number of cases continues to rise everyday.

Fortunately, monkeypox is not nearly as fatal as COVID-19. There are many symptoms including a fever, muscle aches, and rashes that look like pimples or blisters that appear on your body and face. These symptoms can last for around two to four weeks, but most people can recover without treatment. Currently, there are two vaccines that can be used to prevent monkeypox.

Will monkeypox cause another pandemic? In short, probably not. Merriam-Webster defines pandemic as “occurring over a wide geographic area and affecting an exceptionally high proportion of the population." Although the World Health Organization is responsible for declaring an outbreak a pandemic, many epidemiologists believe that it will not cause a worldwide pandemic due to it not being as contagious since it requires close contact with someone who’s affected.

Sources:

https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/index.html 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/03/briefing/monkeypox-contagious-vaccines-us.html 

https://www.who.int/emergencies/situations/monkeypox-oubreak-2022