Monkeypox virus disease

David Heymann says experts developing guidance for countries, as New York City resident tests positive for Orthopoxvirus.

State and city officials have said they will try to determine how the New York patient was infected. “It was originally isolated out of a monkey, but monkeys aren’t the natural host. The WHO warned more cases are likely to emerge. The notification came a day after authorities in New York City said they were investigating two potential cases. Health officials in several countries have warned that cases could rise further over the summer. “There are vaccines available, but the most important message is: you can protect yourself,” he said.

Outbreak at glance. Since 13 May 2022, cases of monkeypox have been reported to WHO from 12 Member States that are not endemic for monkeypox virus, ...

If the contact develops a rash, they need to be isolated and evaluated as a suspected case, and a specimen should be collected for laboratory analysis to test for monkeypox. Large gatherings may represent a conducive environment for the transmission of monkeypox virus as they entail close, prolonged and frequent interactions among people, which in turn can expose attendees to contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials. Health information and advice should be provided avoiding any form of stigmatization of certain groups such as men who have sex with men (MSM). If monkeypox is suspected, the investigation should consist of (i) clinical examination of the patient using appropriate infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, (ii) questioning the patient about possible sources of infection and the presence of similar disease in the patient’s community and contacts, and (iii) safe collection and dispatch of specimens for monkeypox laboratory examination. Countries should be on the alert for signals related to patients presenting with unusual rash, vesicular or pustular lesions or lymphadenopathy, often associated with fever, in a range of community and health care settings, including but not limited to primary care, fever clinics, sexual health services, infectious disease units, obstetrics and gynecology, and dermatology clinics. Probable and confirmed cases should be reported immediately to WHO through IHR National Focal Points (NFPs) under the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005). Uncertainty remains on the natural history of the monkeypox virus and further studies are needed to identify the exact reservoir(s) and how virus circulation is maintained in nature. The situation is evolving and WHO expects there will be more cases of monkeypox identified as surveillance expands in non-endemic countries. Any patient with suspected monkeypox should be investigated and if confirmed, isolated until their lesions have crusted, the scab has fallen off and a fresh layer of skin has formed underneath. Countries currently reporting cases of the West African clade are Cameroon and Nigeria. With this case definition, all countries except these four should report new cases of monkeypox as part of the current multi-country outbreak. The situation is evolving and WHO expects there will be more cases of monkeypox identified as surveillance expands in non-endemic countries. It is caused by the monkeypox virus which belongs to the orthopoxvirus genus of the Poxviridae family.

Monkeypox is an infectious disease that is usually mild and is endemic in parts of West and Central Africa. Although it belongs to the same virus family as ...

They haven’t told me the level of exposure yet but it is something that everybody should be concerned about. He said close contact was the key transmission route, as lesions typical of the disease are very infectious. In his first public comments on the disease, Biden added: “It is a concern in that if it were to spread it would be consequential. “What seems to be happening now is that it has got into the population as a sexual form, as a genital form, and is being spread as are sexually transmitted infections, which has amplified its transmission around the world,” said WHO official David Heymann, an infectious disease specialist. Monkeypox is an infectious disease that is usually mild and is endemic in parts of West and Central Africa. Although it belongs to the same virus family as smallpox, its symptoms are milder. As of Saturday, 92 confirmed cases and 28 suspected cases of monkeypox were reported from 12 member states that are not endemic for the virus, the UN agency said, adding it will provide further guidance and recommendations in the coming days for countries on how to mitigate the spread of monkeypox.

In fact, Clalit Health Services infectious disease expert Dr. Ian Miskin told The Jerusalem Post that the success of the smallpox vaccine in protecting against ...

They are actually seeing what they can do about getting a new version of the vaccine if necessary, especially for hospital workers and people who have to be in close contact with the disease.” Monkeypox can be transmitted in several ways, one of which is through droplet transmission. Additionally, it can have quite severe side effects, and the severity of them is not warranted by the relatively mild monkeypox strain. Monkeypox is one of several diseases grouped under the family of viruses known as Poxviridae, the most well-known of which is smallpox. In both instances, the patients are reported to be in mild condition and doing well. However, they are still similar enough for the approved smallpox vaccine to be effective against it.

Britain is seeing daily infections of the rare monkeypox virus that are unconnected to any travel to West Africa, where the disease is endemic, ...

Hopkins declined to confirm reports that one individual was in intensive care, but said the outbreak was concentrated in urban areas, among gay or bisexual men. "We are detecting more cases on a daily basis." Asked if community transmission was now the norm in Britain, UKHSA chief medical adviser Susan Hopkins said "absolutely".

Monkeypox is a misnomer resulting from the fact that it was first discovered in 1958, when outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in monkeys kept for research ...

Tecovirimat was approved by the European Medical Association for monkeypox in 2022 based on data in animal and human studies but isn’t yet widely available, according to the WHO. Newer vaccines based on non-replicating versions of the vaccinia virus have been developed, of which one has been approved for prevention of monkeypox. Yes. Monkeypox is diagnosed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to detect viral DNA in specimens collected from the scabs or swabs of a patient’s lesions. Still, monkeypox is a stable DNA virus not prone to rapid mutation and, even in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where thousands of infections occur annually, that hasn’t been reported. The virus belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus, which includes the variola virus, the cause of smallpox; the vaccinia virus, which is used in the smallpox vaccine; and cowpox virus. Early analysis of the genetic sequence of monkeypox virus collected from a patient in Portugal indicates that the strain spreading there belongs to the West African clade, or branch on the evolutionary tree, and is most closely related to viruses found in cases exported from Nigeria to the UK, Israel and Singapore in recent years. Monkeypox virus strains from this clade have a case-fatality rate of 1% to 3.6%. (That compares with 10% for a second clade called Congo Basin, which appears on the US government’s bioterrorism agent list as having the potential to pose a severe threat.) Monkeypox is endemic, or perpetually present, in many parts of West and Central Africa. Outbreaks outside the continent occur infrequently. The reservoir host or main carrier of monkeypox disease hasn’t yet been identified, although rodents are suspected of playing a part in transmission. Smallpox wasn’t transmitted in asymptomatically infected people, so it’s unlikely monkeypox will be very different, according to Raina MacIntyre, professor of global biosecurity at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. A large proportion of cases have been among men who have sex with men, suggesting transmission through close sexual and personal contact. Some patients have genital lesions and the rash may be hard to distinguish from syphilis, herpes simplex virus infection, shingles and other more common infections, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mortality is higher among children and young adults, and people whose immune system is compromised are especially at risk of severe disease. Monkeypox is a misnomer resulting from the fact that it was first discovered in 1958, when outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in monkeys kept for research. But, on the downside, it led to the end of a global vaccination program that provided protection against other pox viruses.