Just a media fake?
Claim: Monkeypox doesn’t exist at all, it’s a hoax, some on social networks believe. Photos used in the reporting, which are actually old or show other diseases such as shingles, are intended to prove this. There are numerous image comparisons circulating for example on Twitter
DW fact check: Not correct.
The monkey pox are real. The virus is known since 1958, it has been known since 1970 that it can also be transmitted to humans. There are always outbreaks that have so far been limited to countries in West and Central Africa. Nigeria has had a major outbreak with over 500 cases since 2017 and is ongoing to this day.
The “old” pictures, which are supposed to prove that the reports about monkeypox are false reports, are mostly agency pictures of the disease that have been in the picture stock of the respective provider for years. And it is not uncommon for the same images to be used repeatedly for reporting on medical topics – because the selection is rather small overall.
Some Twitter users juxtapose monkeypox and shingles article images – the seemingly identical images for the two different diseases are meant to prove the monkeypox coverage is fake.
A search engine research shows: Although the Info text from the Queensland Government about shingles actually illustrated with the image from the tweet. The monkeypox article is a little more complicated: at least as of May 19, 2022, The Health Site’s text does not contain the image from the tweet, but a different one.
an older archived version of article dated July 17, 2021 actually incorrectly showed the shingles image as an illustration of monkeypox – this error has since been corrected and the article has been revised. An editorial error on a website also does not change the fact that monkeypox actually exists.
Monkeypox through corona vaccination?
Claim: The Corona vaccine from AstraZeneca contains attenuated adenoviruses from chimpanzees – as a carrier for the DNA of the corona spike protein. For some users, this suggests that monkeypox infections are due to the vector vaccine.
DW fact check: Not correct.
Monkeypox and adenoviruses from monkeys – although the word “monkeys” may at first glance suggest a possible connection, the viruses are unrelated. Christine Falk, President of the German Society for Immunology, explains: “Monkeypox is so called because it was first detected in a monkey colony in 1958. But they actually come from rodents, monkeys are probably an intermediate host.”
Adenoviruses, including chimpanzee adenoviruses, which form the basis for vector vaccines, are a completely different class of virus than smallpox viruses – with completely different properties. Sometimes these viruses would cause cold-like infections. “And there are some that have been isolated from chimpanzees and modified for use in vaccines. From chimpanzees so our bodies don’t have pre-immunity like human adenoviruses can.” Falk and other experts therefore see no way that COVID vaccines could have anything to do with the monkeypox outbreak.
Virus originated in Wuhan in the laboratory?
Claim: That Wuhan Institute of Virology target have experimented with monkeypox viruses – for some a clear indication that this is the origin of the current outbreak. The whole thing is reminiscent of the “laboratory theory” of the corona virus, which scientists now consider unlikely but not entirely impossible.
DW fact check: Misleading.
In fact, monkeypox virus PCR testing experiments have been taking place in Wuhan. That is undisputed, an iPublished by the Institute in February 2022 study makes that transparent too. However, this study only experimented with a fragment of the virus that contained less than a third of the monkeypox genome. This fragment is absolutely safe, the study says, because there is no risk of it turning back into a contagious virus could develop.
“There is no evidence to show that monkeypox originated in a laboratory. The virus exists in the wild in animal populations in various countries in West and Central Africa. Small-scale human outbreaks occur almost every year,” explains dr mark Slifka, an immunologist and professor at the Oregon National Primate Research Center, told DW.
Slifka goes on to explain that scientists are able to distinguish different virus strains by sequencing the genome. It can thus be seen whether the virus is related to the West African or the Central African strain of the monkeypox virus. “As far as I know, none of the primary cases reported traveled to China before being diagnosed,” Slifka said.
Also the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed in commentsthat all current cases so far have been linked to a strain of monkeypox virus originating in West Africa. The fact that there are currently increasing numbers of cases in Europe is one thing European Center for Disease Prevention (ECDC) paper according to the study, probably mainly at so-called spreader events in the international MSM scene, since monkeypox is mainly transmitted via direct contact with the mucous membranes.
Is monkeypox a “plandemic”?
Claim: In the social networks the assertion is also spreadingthe outbreak of a monkeypox pandemic had been prepared long in advance. A simulation game at the Munich Security Conference, which was based on a monkeypox scenario, proves that Connection between Bill Gates and the monkeypox outbreak because he is said to have repeatedly warned of such a scenario.
DW fact check: Misleading.
The simulation used as evidence of an allegedly planned monkeypox pandemic at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) 2021 actually exists – also with the scenario of a fictitious monkeypox outbreak in May 2022. The simulation was developed by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) as part of the MSC initiated to address gaps in global pandemic coordination to draw attention to.
Business games are used in many contexts to prepare for complex scenarios/security risks and to test or check processes. The fact that such a simulated scenario actually occurs speaks for the realistic nature of the scenarios, but it does not prove causality.
The scenario is also close, but it does not correspond to reality. For example, the real pathogen is less infectious and the transmission paths differ from the scenario on the MSC. The NTI recently clarified this in a statement: “The fictitious scenario in our exercise referred to a hypothetical engineered strain of monkeypox virus that was more transmissible and dangerous than natural strains and spread worldwide and eventually more than three within 18 months caused billions of cases and 270 million deaths.”
With the current outbreak there is no reason to assume that it is a manipulated pathogen. Nor do they believe that the current pathogen has the potential to spread as quickly as its fictional counterpart in the simulation game, or cause such a high mortality rate, the NGO said.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates at the Munich Security Conference in February 2022
Regarding the allegations about Bill Gates, the billionaire and philanthropist has long been involved with his foundation in the prevention of diseases and has been warning for years against dangers from bioterrorism and pandemics – for example from a smallpox outbreak. The possibility of such an outbreak or a bioterrorist attack with smallpox viruses is also independent of Gates discussed in various research articles. And monkeypox itself was never specifically mentioned by Gates in his remarks.
Can US chief virologist Fauci see clairvoyantly?
Claim: US chief immunologist Anthony Fauci is said to have awarded research funds for research into treatment options for the disease even before the current monkeypox outbreak – for some a strong indication that this outbreak was planned well in advance.
DW fact check: Misleading.
The research funding actually exists. Since the monkeypox virus was discovered in 1958 and it has been known for over 50 years that people can become infected, research into treatment options has been going on for a correspondingly long time. The fact that such research projects exist is therefore not in itself a great surprise. A search for “monkeypox” (“monkeypox”) on the pages of the research projects of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows that over the years regular research projects on this virus and the treatment of monkeypox. In professional circles Rather, it is criticized that such dangerous viruses and the diseases they cause still receive too little attention as long as the industrialized world does not suffer directly from them.
Cooperation: Ines Eisele