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KJ: Mpox unlikely to trigger next pandemic
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Publish date: Thu, 22 Aug 2024, 05:57 PM
FORMER health minister Khairy Jamaluddin has downplayed concerns that the monkeypox (mpox) virus could spark the next global pandemic, referencing the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) assessment that the virus poses a lower risk compared to COVID-19.
Speaking at the SIDC Business Foresight Forum 2024 at the Securities Commission, Khairy highlighted that according to WHO, mpox is not as transmissible or virulent as COVID-19.
He added that more significant contact is required to contract the virus, making it less likely to cause a widespread outbreak.
This statement comes after WHO, on Aug 14, declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which then spread to neighbouring countries.
“I don’t think mpox is presenting itself as an existential or economic risk at the moment,” stated Khairy.
However, he expressed greater concern about the potential for a future virus that could be as virulent and transmissible as COVID-19. He cited scientific evidence suggesting that the next pandemic could emerge from zoonotic diseases, which are becoming more prevalent due to the mass displacement of animals.
He also noted that COVID-19 was a zoonotic disease, originating in animals before infecting humans.
I was told by scientists that there are tens of thousands of animal-borne diseases that could infect (humans).
Moreover, Khairy’s remarks were echoed by Universiti Sains Malaysia virologist Amir Yunus, who on Aug 20 reassured the public that the mpox virus is more stable than the coronavirus and not prone to the rapid mutations that made COVID-19 so deadly.
According to Amir, this stability reduces the likelihood of mpox causing a similar health crisis.
Despite these reassurances, Khairy criticised the global response to potential future pandemics, lamenting that Malaysia and other countries have become less vigilant in recent years.
He pointed out that government-created labs for vaccine development have been largely inactive and there has been little progress on initiatives by the World Economic Forum to establish vaccine manufacturing sites in the global south with funding from developed nations.
“We have not seen significant implementation of these measures,” Khairy concluded, warning that complacency could leave the world unprepared for the next global healthcare crisis. – Aug 22, 2024
https://focusmalaysia.my/kj-mpox-unlikely-to-trigger-next-pandemic/
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