epidemiology

On 18 May, the Ministry of Health confirmed to SMC Spain that eight suspected cases "clinically compatible" with monkeypox had been detected. The same afternoon, the Consejería de Sanidad de la Comunidad de Madrid reported that it had detected 23 possible cases of infection. These cases need to be confirmed after testing. At least 7 cases have been confirmed in the UK and Portugal. This is a rare zoonotic viral disease and there is no vaccine or specific treatment available. Treatment is symptomatic and supportive. Most cases are resolved favourably.

Following the detection of several cases of people infected with the simian smallpox virus in the UK, health authorities are concerned that there may be EU-wide transmission with undetected infections, both within and outside the country. In Spain, the Community of Madrid has identified 23 possible cases of infection.

The Public Health Commission has updated the Covid-19 Surveillance and Control Strategy, which will come into force on Monday 28 March. From then on, as long as indicators of healthcare utilisation are at low risk, diagnostic testing will focus on vulnerable individuals and settings and severe cases. Surveillance will focus on these groups.

The WHO recommends keeping an eye on the BA.2 variant of Omicron because it is spreading, but it does not appear to cause more serious disease or escape vaccination. Don't be fooled by its evocative nickname: it is perfectly detectable. The misconception that tests do not identify it was propagated by a headline that was corrected.

The terms "endemism" and "seasonality" are increasingly used to refer to the covid-19 pandemic. They are sometimes incorrectly associated with the severity of the disease or with the premature end of the pandemic. What do they mean? Does SARS-CoV-2 fit these definitions? Will it ever do so thanks to vaccines?

The first solid work on the ability of vaccines to stop infection with the omicron variant, which has just been published, reinforces the need for a third dose. Experts recall, however, that the aim of vaccines was never to stop infection, but to prevent severe disease. We summarize what is known so far about it.

"Equity in the distribution of vaccines is not a matter of charity; it benefits all countries," said Tedros Adhanom, director of the WHO. However, his data speak of a very unequal distribution: more than 80 % of the vaccines have gone to G20 countries, while poor countries, mostly African, have received only 0.6 %. Three Spanish experts analyze what went wrong.

The discovery of the Omicron variant has led to the cancellation of flights to several African countries, while many countries are beginning to detect cases among travellers from countries such as South Africa, but also Nigeria and Egypt. Spain has just announced the first detected case of Omicron, which corresponds to a traveller who had visited South Africa. What measures should be taken to stop the spread of this variant? Is it even possible?