Monkeypox: Warning signs of an outbreak went unheeded, experts say

Warning signs ahead of monkeypox outbreak went unheeded, experts say Monkeypox appears to have exploded out of nowhere in the past two weeks, spreading across Europe, the Americas, and other regions. But warning signs appear to have gone unheeded. Helen Branswell STAT

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An unusual and long-running outbreak in Nigeria should have served as notice that it was only a matter of time before this orthopoxvirus pushed its way to the center of the infectious diseases stage, experts say.

After decades without cases, Nigeria experienced a large monkeypox outbreak starting in 2017 that continues to this day. Prior to this year, that outbreak spread beyond Nigeria’s borders eight times, with infected people traveling to the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, and Singapore.

Chikwe Ihekweazu, the former director general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, said his country sought help to try to decipher what was going on with monkeypox. But the requests didn’t get much traction. ...