‘Monkeypox is more than a wake-up call. It is about epidemic and pandemic preparedness as a matter of policy’

In June, for the first time in nearly 40 years, health officials in the UK identified a likely outbreak of polio in London. Alarm bells rang sharp as scientists discovered the outbreak through an indirect route, finding multiple versions of the virus in sewage water. Although the UK Health Security Agency said the risk to the general public is extremely low, because the vast majority of people in Britain are vaccinated against polio during…