Monkeypox virus disease outbreak

2022 - 5 - 23

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The Independent"

Monkeypox news – live: WHO says world faces 'formidable ... (The Independent)

Monkeypox is not a “repeat of” Covid-19, a UK government minister has assured. “As with any new disease, and obviously after the Covid pandemic doubly so, we ...

Jake Sullivan, the president’s national security adviser, told reporters aboard the flight to Tokyo that the US has a supply of “vaccine that is relevant to treating monkeypox.” Australia has at least two cases of monkeypox after the cases were detected in people returning from abroad. The outbreak is now said to be the “largest and most widespread ever seen in Europe” where a dozen of countries have reported cases. It has at least five cases of the virus. The person has been isolated and contact tracing is being conducted. It called on anyone returning from abroad with fever and lesions to see a doctor. The total tally in Spain reached 30 after 23 cases were confirmed in a single day. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. He added that work was underway to determine what vaccine might be effective. A sauna in Madrid has been linked to a majority of cases which has been closed. The WHO list did not include Israel, Switzerland and Austria, which have since confirmed their own cases. The head of the World Health Organisation has described monkeypox as a new “formidable” challenge to the global community alongside the Covid-19 pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine, as the agency warned of rising cases of the virus.

Monkeypox outbreak is primarily spreading through sex, WHO ... (CNBC)

European nations have confirmed dozens of cases in what's become the largest outbreak of monkeypox ever on the Continent, according to the German military.

The U.S. has confirmed at least two cases and Canada has confirmed at least five so far. The vaccine used to prevent smallpox appears to be about 85% effective in guarding against monkeypox in observational research in Africa, WHO officials said. That then progresses to a rash on the face, hands, feet, eyes, mouth or genitals that turns into raised bumps, or papules, that then become blisters that often resemble chicken pox. The WHO convened an emergency meeting this weekend via video conference to look at the virus, identify those most at risk and study its transmission. Two confirmed and one suspected case of monkeypox in the U.K. were reported to the WHO just 10 days ago, the first cases this year outside of Africa where the virus has generally circulated at low levels over the last 40 years, the organization said. European nations have confirmed dozens of cases in what's become the largest outbreak of monkeypox ever on the Continent, according to the German military.

CDC Expects More US Monkeypox Cases as Tests Pend for ... (NBC New York)

Monkeypox: How does it spread? Where was the first US case? Is it airborne? Does smallpox vaccine offer protection? Here are the answers to the questions...

See more information from the travel notice here. Monkeypox also causes lymph nodes to swell, something that smallpox does not. It presents itself as a flu-like illness accompanied by lymph-node swelling and rash on the face and body. Monkeypox starts off with fever, headache, muscle aches, and exhaustion. Other African countries where it has been found: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo and Sierra Leone. Monkeypox is rarely identified outside of Africa, but as of Friday, there were 80 confirmed cases worldwide, including at least two in the United States, and another 50 suspected ones. Biden added that work was underway to determine which vaccine might be effective. Most potential cases the CDC is investigating do not involve recent travel to countries that typically see a lot of monkeypox, so it says it is working diligently to track the connections. One of the latter is being treated in isolation in New York City. - Person of Interest Identified in Deadly NYC ... Most people who become infected recover within two to four weeks with little or no intervention. The agency is responsible for confirming potential cases as state and city health departments sent samples.

Presumptive Case of Monkeypox Virus in King County – PUBLIC ... (Public Health Insider)

Initial testing confirming an orthopoxviral infection was completed on Monday, May 23, 2022, at the Washington State Public Health Laboratory. Confirmatory ...

This is especially important for those who have also traveled in the last 30 days to a region reporting monkeypox cases, or who is a man who has sex with other men.” “We at DOH continue to work with Public Health – Seattle & King County and CDC to support the investigation of this case. The risk is not limited to men who have sex with men. The case is in an adult male with international travel in the past month to a country that has also reported monkeypox cases recently. The individual is isolating and does not pose a risk to others at this time. We have not identified any high-risk exposures in King County, and we are following up with people who had potential low risk exposures.

Monkeypox virus disease outbreak: New cases only tip of iceberg ... (Zee News)

The global health body does not believe that the spread of the monkeypox virus outside of Africa requires mass vaccinations as measures like good hygiene ...

An antiviral agent developed for the treatment of smallpox has also been licensed for the treatment of monkeypox, according to WHO. Newer vaccines have been developed of which one has been approved for prevention of the disease. The disease is usually self-limiting with the symptoms lasting from two to four weeks. Britain, where the first European case was confirmed on May 7 in an individual who returned to England from Nigeria, has already started to offer a smallpox vaccine to some healthcare workers and others who may have been exposed to the monkeypox virus. The disease occurs primarily in tropical rainforest areas of Central and West Africa. Pebody noted that monkeypox is not a virus that spreads very easily, nor has it so far caused serious disease.

Monkeypox likely spread through sex at 2 raves in Europe, expert ... (Globalnews.ca)

Monkeypox can be spread through close contact with an infected person or their clothing or bedsheets, but sexual transmission has not yet been documented.

“It’s very possible there was somebody who got infected, developed lesions on the genitals, hands or somewhere else, and then spread it to others when there was sexual or close, physical contact,” Heymann hypothesized. “This is not COVID,” he said. Monkeypox typically causes fever, chills, rash, and lesions on the face or genitals. Madrid’s senior health official said on Monday that the Spanish capital has recorded 30 confirmed cases so far. WHO said confirmed cases have so far been the less severe West African group of monkeypox viruses and appeared to be linked to a virus that was first detected in exported cases from Nigeria to Britain, Israel and Singapore in 2018-2019. U.K. officials have said “a notable proportion” of the cases in Britain and Europe have been in young men with no history of travel to Africa and who are gay, bisexual or have sex with men.

People coming into contact with monkeypox are now being advised ... (Fortune)

Belgium introduced the world's first compulsory monkeypox quarantine rules last week.

There are two strains of the virus. Portugal, Spain and the U.K. have the highest number of confirmed cases so far, each having reported between 21 and 30 confirmed cases to the WHO. To date, the U.K. has confirmed 20 cases of monkeypox, with health officials expected to announce more confirmed cases on Monday. Most countries have said people with confirmed cases of monkeypox should isolate for 21 days, with the U.S. CDC advising monkeypox patients to isolate until all crusts from the rash are gone. No one in the U.K. with a confirmed or potential case of monkeypox is required to self-isolate by law. Health officials in the U.K. and Belgium have introduced three-week quarantines to prevent the transmission of monkeypox, as the disease continues to spread across Europe.