Experts at AIDS conference say current global response to monkeypox isn’t enough

MONTREAL — A panel of scientists and activists at the AIDS 2022 conference in Montreal this weekend urged global governments to use more resources to tackle monkeypox outbreaks.

The plea came on a Sunday when international experts gathered to discuss the need to reproduce mistakes made during early HIV response.

Marina Klein, research director and professor of medicine in the department of infectious and chronic viral diseases at McGill University in Que., said Montreal could be an example as it becomes crucial to improve the global response to monkeypox.

“There was a very rapid response in Montreal to deal with the rising infections, with the implementation of a very liberal and open, accessible vaccine,” Klein said in an interview on Sunday.

Montreal was the first epicenter of outbreaks in Canada, with about 360 confirmed cases as of July 29. There are now more than 800 confirmed cases of monkey pox in the country.

But the number of infections has begun to stabilize, reaching a plateau in Montreal, Klein said.

“Some of that has come directly from the Ministry of Health, but also with community involvement, which has been key to educating about the importance of the vaccine,” she said.

However, Klein said she is concerned that other provinces, especially Saskatchewan, will not have the same ease of connecting with vulnerable communities.

“Although only two cases have been identified, we know that in Saskatchewan there have been many problems, both with HIV and sexually transmitted diseases, especially among vulnerable populations, including indigenous communities,” Klein said.

She emphasized the importance of community involvement and having a vaccine response ready, as well as the need to study the magnitude of monkeypox transmission.

“We responded quickly, but nowhere in the world responded quickly enough to address this and get rid of it in the short time frame we needed,” she said.

“Now we’re going to have to shift gears and think about how we can manage this in the long run.”

Her criticism was shared by several other speakers at Sunday’s conference.

Keletso Makofane, a public health researcher at Harvard University, called the global monkeypox response “worse than the initial HIV response.”

More than 19,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in recent months from 78 countries, mostly among men who have sex with other men.

“We knew enough to have done a lot better to contain this thing,” Makofane said in an interview, adding that the general fatigue of fighting COVID-19 was making the monkeypox response slower than it should have been.

Makofane also condemned thousands of vaccine doses in Denmark as the number of cases continues to rise.

Unlike the many companies that have made COVID-19 vaccines, the Bavarian Nordic Denmark is the sole maker of the vaccine used against monkeypox.

“It’s outrageous and worse than HIV in the sense that we have the means to respond,” Makofane said.

dr. Meg Doherty, director of the World Health Organization’s global HIV, hepatitis and STI programs, told attendees that an equitable approach is critical to ensuring the resources are available not only to wealthier countries, but also in Africa. , where monkeypox is traditionally found.

“Thirty-five countries have been granted access to or are requesting access to the vaccines… is there a risk that countries making (requests) for access will come from rich countries? That’s quite a risk,” Doherty said on Sunday.

“We want equality. We cannot have a monkeypox response that only responds to the UK, Canada and the United States.”

The international AIDS 2022 conference – from July 29 to Tuesday – is expected to attract more than 9,000 delegates from around the world, with a further 2,000 registered to participate remotely.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 31, 2022.