Monkeypox symptoms differ from previous outbreaks - UK study
By Jennifer Rigby Fri, July 1, 2022
LONDON (Reuters) - Patients with monkeypox in the UK have noticeably different symptoms from those seen in previous outbreaks, according to researchers in London, raising concerns cases are being missed.
Patients reported less fever and tiredness and more skin lesions in their genital and anal areas than typically seen in monkeypox, the study of 54 patients at London sexual health clinics in May this year found.
Monkeypox, a usually relatively mild viral illness that is endemic in several countries in western and central Africa, has caused more than 5,000 cases and one death outside those areas – mainly in Europe – since early May. Cases have also risen in the countries where it more usually spreads, according to the World Health Organization.
The research from London, published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases Journal, follows suggestions from public health bodies like the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the outbreak - which is spreading chiefly among men who have sex with men – is presenting unusually.
The authors, from a number of institutions including Chelsea & Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said case definitions should be reviewed to avoid cases being overlooked, particularly as monkeypox can "mimic" other common sexually transmitted infections (STI) like herpes and syphilis. The study also found that a quarter of the monkeypox patients were HIV positive, and a quarter had another STI.
"Misdiagnosis of the infection may prevent the opportunity for appropriate intervention and prevention of onward transmission," said Dr Ruth Byrne, from the trust.
Monkeypox spreads through close contact, and researchers are working to establish whether it can also be transmitted via semen, the classic definition of sexual transmission. [L1N2Y20QL]
David Heymann, an infectious diseases epidemiologist and WHO advisor on the outbreak, said it was important to control the spread without stigmatizing those affected.
"That includes working with populations at the greatest risk to try to help them understand how easy it is to prevent this infection – just by avoiding physical contact in the genital area [when a rash is present]," he told Reuters.
(Reporting by Jennifer Rigby; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
WHO calls for ‘urgent’ action to stem monkeypox spread in Europe as cases surge
01:39 World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
Text by: NEWS WIRES|
Video by: Fraser JACKSON
The World Health Organization called on Friday for “urgent” action to prevent the spread of monkeypox in Europe, noting that cases had tripled in the region over the past two weeks.
“Today, I am intensifying my call for governments and civil society to scale up efforts... to prevent monkeypox from establishing itself across a growing geographical area,” WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Henri Kluge said.
“Urgent and coordinated action is imperative if we are to turn a corner in the race to reverse the ongoing spread of this disease.”
Since early May, a surge in monkeypox cases has been detected outside West and Central African countries where the viral disease is endemic.
Ninety percent of all laboratory-confirmed cases registered worldwide—or 4,500 infections—are in Europe, Kluge said.
Thirty-one countries and areas have now reported infections.
Kluge said Europe remains at the centre of the expanding outbreak and the risk remains high.
The WHO does not think the outbreak currently constitutes a public health emergency of international concern but will review its position shortly, he said.
It is investigating cases of possible sexual transmission but maintains the disease is primarily spread through close contact.
Monkeypox is related to smallpox, which killed millions around the world every year before it was eradicated in 1980, but has far less severe symptoms.
The disease starts with a fever and quickly develops into a rash, with the formation of scabs. It is usually mild and typically clears up spontaneously after two to three weeks.
Britain has the highest number of reported cases to date -- 1,076 according to the UK authorities—ahead of Germany (838), Spain (736), Portugal (365) and France (350), according to data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
London’s chief public health doctor Kevin Fenton on Thursday urged anyone with symptoms not to take part in the Pride march in the British capital at the weekend.
On Friday, the Danish laboratory Bavarian Nordic, the only laboratory manufacturing a licensed vaccine against monkeypox, announced a new shipment of 2.5 million doses to the United States.
US health authorities said Tuesday they were immediately releasing 56,000 doses of monkeypox vaccine—five times the number distributed so far—to areas of high transmission as part of a major escalation of the country’s immunisation strategy.
The European Medicines Agency announced on Tuesday that it had begun reviewing a smallpox vaccine to extend its use against monkeypox.
(AFP)
No comments:
Post a Comment