As the world grapples with the monkeypox outbreak, countries with flare-ups of the viral disease have been offering vaccination to contacts of infected people and those in groups considered as being at risk.
At the weekend, the World Health Organisation declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, the first since Covid-19.
For most people, symptoms such as rashes on the face, palms and other parts of the body, and a fever, are not serious, although individuals with a weakened immune system, pregnant women and children may be more at risk and the disease can prove fatal.
With cases having exceeded 18,000 across 75 countries this year, concerns have been raised about whether will it be possible to control the spread of a disease that, until recently, was largely confined to west and central Africa, with occasional, typically short-lived appearances elsewhere.
Figures compiled by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention show that America has recorded more than 3,800 cases this year, with Spain at more than 3,000 and the UK and Germany reporting more than 2,000 infections.
What difference does declaring a public health emergency make?
The WHO’s decision to name the outbreak a public health emergency is “a warning signal” about the seriousness of the outbreak, said Dr Bharat Pankhania, a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter in the UK.
“It’s an alert, it’s raising a red flag,” he said. “It’s telling everyone we should be doing something about it and all nations with all their expertise should go into action stations.”
Prof Paul Hunter, an infectious diseases specialist and professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia in the UK, said he thought the world could “get on top of” the outbreak.
A reason for this is that the disease is “not that infectious”, with the R number being less than 1.0 among the general population, meaning that one infected person on average passes the infection on to fewer than one other person.
But Prof Hunter said that among men who have sex with men and have multiple partners, the R rate is between 1.4 and 1.8, so many recent cases have been among this group.
Indeed the global outbreak has been driven by patterns of behaviour often linked to dating apps, suggested Prof Ian Jones, professor of virology at the University of Reading in the UK.
“It’s very much a social phenomenon,” he said, adding that there was no indication that the outbreak was due to the virus spreading faster because it had changed.
Drawing a parallel with what happened with HIV, the virus that causes Aids, Dr Pankhania said that monkeypox could go on to spread more widely in the general population if the current outbreak was not dealt with.
How can the outbreak be controlled?
Health authorities should use contact tracing and vaccination of at-risk groups, including medical staff who may come into contact with cases, according to Dr Pankhania.
One vaccine used against monkeypox is an updated version of an old smallpox vaccine, but this contains a virus that, although weakened, can sometimes cause disease in people with a compromised immune system.
A newer vaccine, called MVA but also known by various brand names, was also originally developed against smallpox.
It is being used by some countries such as the UK and is considered safer because the virus it contains has been more heavily weakened and so is unlikely to cause illness, although there are reported supply constraints.
“You can get at least 70 to 75 per cent protection, which is better than nothing and pretty good to be honest,” Dr Pankhania said.
Unlike with Covid-19, vaccination programmes need only to concentrate on at-risk groups, rather than the general population, where rates of spread are extremely low.
“There just isn’t a case for mass vaccination,” said Prof Jones, saying that the modest number of cases globally meant a universal campaign was not appropriate.
While there have been concerns expressed that some countries have not done enough to ensure that at-risk groups are vaccinated, Prof Hunter said there was evidence that spread may have peaked.
Even if the current outbreak is stamped out, monkeypox is likely to continue to emerge periodically across the world because in West and Central Africa — but not outside these regions — rodents are a “reservoir” for the disease and can spread the virus to people who are bitten or who eat uncooked meat.
“There’s always a risk they could have an outbreak that spills into the high-risk group again,” Prof Hunter said.
Vaccination campaigns under way
The UK's National Health Service is stepping up its monkeypox vaccination programme.
Health officials said 100,000 more doses of an effective immunisation had been bought.
The EU signed an agreement in June for the supply of about 110,000 doses of the Imvanex shot, known as Jynneos in the US.
Imvanex is currently authorised in the EU for the prevention of Smallpox in adults and has been recommended for use against monkeypox by the European Medicines Agency.
The US has delivered 300,000 vaccine doses and is working on the delivery of close to 800,000 more.
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Directed: Smeep Kang
Produced: Soham Rockstar Entertainment; SKE Production
Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Jimmy Sheirgill, Sunny Singh, Omkar Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma
Rating: Two out of five stars
SPEC%20SHEET
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh289,000
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
2021 World Triathlon Championship Series
May 15: Yokohama, Japan
June 5: Leeds, UK
June 24: Montreal, Canada
July 10: Hamburg, Germany
Aug 17-22: Edmonton, Canada (World Triathlon Championship Final)
Nov 5-6 : Abu Dhabi, UAE
Date TBC: Chengdu, China
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
