“Countries reporting monkeypox now are countries that don’t usually have smallpox outbreaks,” said Rosamund Lewis, head of the smallpox secretariat, the WHO’s emergency program, at a UN briefing in Geneva on Tuesday. .
“It’s a new disease. It has been around for the last 20 to 30 years, (so) it’s not unknown, it’s been described a lot, “Lewis told reporters. “The risk to the general public, therefore, seems low because we know that the main means of transmission have been as described in the past.
Cases in parts of the world other than Africa are usually related to international travel or imported animals infected with measles, the CDC said.
Several cases of monkeypox reported in the United Kingdom have been among people who have not traveled or made contact with others, but there is no cause for concern, U.S. Chief Surgeon Dr. Vivek Murty told CNN’s New Day on Thursday.
“We don’t want people to worry right now,” Murty said. “These numbers are still small; we want (people) to be aware of (symptoms) and if they have any concerns, to see their doctor.
What are the initial symptoms of monkeypox?
There is an incubation period of about seven to 14 days, the CDC said. The initial symptoms are usually flu-like, such as fever, chills, exhaustion, headache and muscle weakness, followed by swelling of the lymph nodes, which help the body fight infections and diseases.
“A feature that distinguishes monkeypox infection from smallpox infection is the development of swollen lymph nodes,” the CDC said.
This is followed by a widespread rash on the face and body, including inside the mouth and on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.
Painful, raised patterns are pearly and full of fluid, often surrounded by red circles. The lesions finally form and go away in two to three weeks, the CDC said.
The current outbreak appears to have a higher incidence of groin rash in patients, according to the WHO and the CDC.
“In some cases, during the early stages of the disease, the rash was mainly in the genital and perianal areas,” said Dr. John Brooks, chief medical officer of the CDC’s HIV / AIDS Prevention Department, at a briefing Monday. for news.
“In some cases, this has caused anal or genital lesions that resemble other diseases such as herpes, chickenpox or syphilis,” he said.
“A remarkable proportion of cases” in the current epidemic have been observed among gays and bisexual men, “but by no means is the current risk of exposure to monkeypox exclusively for the gay and bisexual community in the United States. Anyone, anyone, can develop [and] spread monkeypox, “Brooks said.
Overall, the risk of monkeypox is moderate for people with multiple sexual partners and low for the general population, according to a report on a rapid risk assessment released Monday by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
However, monkeypox is not considered a sexually transmitted disease.
How does monkeypox spread?
The spread of the monkeypox virus requires close contact with an infected individual, experts say.
The infection could develop after exposure to “broken skin, mucous membranes, respiratory droplets, contaminated body fluids or even contact with contaminated linen,” said Neil Maboth, a personal chair in immunopathology at the University of Edinburgh’s Veterinary School in Scotland. .
“When the lesions heal, the scabs (which can transmit an infectious virus) can be released as dust that can be inhaled,” said Dr. Michael Skinner, who is in the medical school at the Department of Infectious Diseases at Imperial College London. , in a statement.
Transmission between humans can occur through large respiratory droplets, and because such droplets typically travel only a few feet, “prolonged face-to-face contact is required,” the CDC said. This puts health workers and household members who care for or live with someone who is actively infected at greater risk, according to the WHO. Smallpox, which was eradicated worldwide in 1980, is also spread mainly through direct and prolonged face-to-face contact between people, as well as objects contaminated with contaminated liquids, such as bed linen or clothing.
“Patients with smallpox become contagious as soon as they develop wounds, spread the virus through droplets when coughing or sneezing. They remain contagious until their lesions resolve, “said Dr. Paritos Prasad, director of the Department of Highly Infectious Diseases at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York.
However, based on available historical information, monkeypox appears to be less contagious than smallpox, Prasad said.
“Monkeypox can be a serious infection, with mortality from this type of smallpox virus being about 1% in other outbreaks. They are often in low-income conditions and have limited access to health care, “said Michael Head, a senior fellow in global health at the University of Southampton in the UK. No deaths have been reported from the current epidemic.
However, in the developed world, “it would be very unusual to see more than a handful of cases at any outbreak, and we will not see levels of Covid-style transmission,” Head said in a statement.
Ordinary household disinfectants can kill the monkeypox virus, according to the CDC.
How is monkeypox treated?
There are no specific drugs available to treat the symptoms of monkeypox, so “the treatment is generally supportive,” said Jimmy Whitworth, a professor of international public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
“However, there is a vaccine that can be given to prevent the disease from developing,” Whitworth said.
In the United States, a two-dose vaccine called Jynneos is currently licensed to prevent monkeypox and can also be used for smallpox. The vaccine was accumulated by the US government in the event of a resumption of the eradicated disease.
“We currently have over 1,000 doses of this available, and we expect this level to increase very rapidly in the coming weeks as the company provides us with more doses,” said Dr. Jennifer McQueston, deputy director of high-impact pathogens. pathology at the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases of the CDC, told reporters during a conversation Monday.
“We hope to maximize the spread of the vaccine among those we know will benefit from it,” McQueston said. “These are people who have had contact with famous monkey patients, health professionals, very close personal contact and especially those who may be at high risk of serious illness.”
Where does monkeypox come from?
Monkeypox got its name in 1958 when “two outbreaks of measles-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research,” the CDC said.
However, the main carrier of the monkeypox disease is still unknown, although “African rodents are suspected of playing a role in the transmission,” the agency said.
The first known case of human monkeypox was “recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during a period of intensified efforts to eradicate smallpox,” the CDC said. Since then, most cases have been concentrated in 11 African countries – with several outbreaks in the United States and Europe involving travel or imports from endemic countries.
An outbreak in the United States in 2003 after forty-seven people in six states – Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin – fell ill due to contact with their domestic prairie dogs, the CDC reported.
“The pets were infected after being placed near imported small mammals from Ghana,” the CDC said. “This was the first time that human monkeypox has been reported outside of Africa.
Jacqueline Howard, Nadia Kunang, Jen Christensen, Michael Nedelman, Paula Newton, John Bonifield, Naomi Thomas, Alex Hardy and CNN’s Benjamin Brown contributed to this report.
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