Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology Specialist Prof. Dr. Mehmet Bakır said, “There is no need to panic” about the monkeypox virus.
The “Mpox” virus, which has attracted attention in recent days, continues to maintain its place on the agenda with the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring a “global emergency”. Although the Mpox virus, popularly known as “monkeypox”, was first seen in the African continent, it was soon detected in many different countries such as Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Indonesia and the Philippines. Stating that no cases have been reported in Turkey yet, Sivas Medicana Hospital Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology Specialist Prof. Dr. Mehmet Bakır said, “It is not possible to predict how much the virus will spread in the world at the moment, but the public needs to be informed in terms of knowing the transmission routes of the disease and taking protective measures. There is no need to panic, but it is also necessary to know the transmission routes of the disease.”
“Guidance prepared for possible pandemic situation”
Stating that the Ministry of Health has prepared a guide against the pandemic, Bakır said, “No cases have been reported in our country yet. Therefore, there is currently a spread of the disease in African countries, especially in Central African countries. Will it spread to different parts of the world? We will watch and see in this process. Getting into a pandemic panic immediately will affect people socially, economically and psychologically in many areas rather than protecting them from the disease. Therefore, maybe this panic may be due to the pandemic we have experienced before. But there is no need for that right now. Of course, this does not mean this. It should not mean that precautions should not be taken. The Ministry of Health has already prepared a guide against the pandemic. Currently, the Ministry of Health has prepared a guide on what to do if a case is seen. First of all, of course, it is necessary to follow this guide and act in line with this guide. No cases have been reported in our country yet. The World Health Organization has declared a public health emergency for the disease we call monkeypox. Therefore, if we see a suspected case in the coming period, we will carry out the necessary examinations, inform the relevant units, relevant health institutions and follow up whether this case is a case of M-pox or monkeypox. But there is no need for panic right now. Because I do not know of any cases in our country.”
“It is not possible to predict how far it will spread”
Emphasizing that there is no need to panic, but at the same time, it is necessary to know the transmission routes of the disease, Bakır said, “As you know, a pandemic risk related to monkeypox was declared by the World Health Organization in 2022. In a short time, it ended that warning in May 2023 with the decrease in the number of cases. It is currently not possible to predict how far the virus will spread in the world, but the public needs to be informed in order to know the transmission routes of the disease and to take preventive measures. There is no need to panic, but it is also necessary to know the transmission routes of the disease. There are observations on the spread of this disease in African countries regarding the smallpox vaccine. It has been observed that monkeypox vaccine provides protection in African countries. There is a prediction that it provides roughly 80 percent protection. Of course, the type of monkeypox virus that the previous World Health Organization declared a public health emergency is different from the current type of monkeypox virus. The previous type was the monkeypox virus, which we call Type-2. The virus is less contagious than the current strain. As we have seen from past experiences, we expect it to spread faster, to be more severe and to be more lethal.”
