Committee for the Defence of the Iranian People’s Rights general secretary GAWAIN LITTLE discusses the impact of the US-Israeli war on the Iranian people and economy
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A plague on all of our houses
Why has monkeypox, which has been infecting people around Congo Basin at a low level for decades, suddenly become noteworthy in the West? Surprise, it’s racism!
An electron microscope image of mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virions
Capitalism has extracted itself from crisis before, argues PRABHAT PATNAIK – but through methods no longer available. So it is turning to authoritarianism, militarism and neocolonialism
The five young men killed in the A66 crash were responsible for a devastating tragedy — but the crash should force us to ask difficult questions about wider society, argues RENATA MEDEIROS MIRRA
Britain funds the policing of black culture 16 times better than the culture itself. The Diamond Jubilee is the moment to end that, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE
Despite Andy Burnham’s declaration defending the continued partition of the island, all major international and internal trends are converging to make Irish reunification inevitable
Humans are part of the ‘animal kingdom’ – and of nature in general – but also distinct from it and labour (work) is part of what makes us unique, declared Engels. His insights 150 years ago into how our species came to be and how we differ from the rest of nature, are as important today as they were then, says the MARX MEMORIAL LIBRARY
IF YOU have been following infectious disease news since the Covid-19 pandemic, you may have already seen that Britain has reached over 300 cases of monkeypox. Monkeypox is a disease caused by the monkeypox virus, which belongs to a small family of viruses that also includes smallpox. In fact, monkeypox is so similar to smallpox that it was only recognised as a distinct pathogen after smallpox was eradicated in the 1970s. Smallpox vaccines are often also quite effective at preventing monkeypox.
Other members of the family include horsepox, cowpox, and camelpox — each named for the animal that they were believed to primarily affect. The viruses are transmitted between infected animals, with rodents acting as a reservoir of infection that can reintroduce the virus into other animal populations. Many of these animal poxes are also “zoonoses” (pronounced zoo-no-sees) since human infection with these viruses is possible through contact with an infected animal.
The exception in this virus family was smallpox due to its ability to only infect humans, with frequently debilitating or fatal consequences. Smallpox was eradicated through a considerable worldwide effort using the technique of “ring” vaccination.
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Poverty, refugee displacement, child labour and militia violence are exacerbating the challenge of health workers to limit this deadly contagious disease. CONSTANT SAME BAGALWA and MARK BANCHEREAU report
