The Minister of Science and Innovation signs the international call for open access to scientific publications on monkeypox
Representatives from the scientific community in 19 countries around the world, as well as the European Commission, have signed an international appeal calling for open access to the scientific data and publications needed to contain the spread of monkeypox virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared the global monkeypox epidemic a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). It is therefore essential to coordinate the international response to this virus in order to halt its spread and protect populations at greatest risk.
As we have seen with COVID-19 and the recent outbreaks of Ebola and Zika, the coordinated response of the international scientific community must be based on the rapid exchange of research data.
Although monkeypox virus has been widely studied and measures are available to prevent and treat the disease it causes, much remains to be learned in order to stay ahead of the epidemic and its evolution.
In view of this, the signatories are issuing a call to scientific organisations and to authors, collaborators and editors to share their publications on monkeypox in open repositories, providing access to the full text and metadata, with permissions for their reuse and secondary analysis.
Containing the spread of monkeypox is now essential to prevent it from becoming an endemic disease in more parts of the world and to prevent new viral reservoirs from emerging in countries where it is not endemic.
A rapid response from the scientific and academic community and from scientific publication editors will help in the global fight against monkeypox.