MONDAY, July 4, 2022 (HealthDay News) — The symptoms of monkeypox patients in the United Kingdom differed from those in previous outbreaks of the virus, a new study shows.
It said there were fewer reports of fever and fatigue, while reports of skin lesions in the genital and anal areas were more common.
The location of the lesions suggests transmission during intimate contact, and the researchers called for more resources to support sexual health clinics.
“The UK and several other countries are currently seeing a rapid increase in cases of monkeypox among people attending sexual health clinics with no apparent links to countries where the disease is endemic,” said Dr Niccolò Girometti of the Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Chelsea and Westminster Trust in London. “Monkeypox is an emerging diagnosis within sexual health and our study, the first to be published on cases from this outbreak in the UK, will inform future case finding and clinical care.”
The study included 54 cases collected from four sexual health centers in London. Each of them has a laboratory-confirmed infection.
All but two of the patients said they did not know they had been in contact with a known case of monkeypox. None had traveled to sub-Saharan Africa, where the disease is common. Many had recently visited other European countries.
Each of the patients identified as men who have sex with men. About 90% reported at least one new sexual partner in the previous three weeks. Almost all reported inconsistent condom use. More than half had had more than five sexual partners in the previous 12 weeks.
About 94% of patients had at least one lesion on the genitals or around the anus. Most had mild illness, although five were hospitalized for pain or infected skin lesions. All were discharged later.
“The commonly observed symptom of anal and penile skin lesions and the fact that a quarter of patients tested positive for gonorrhea or chlamydia at the same time as monkeypox infection suggest that transmission of monkeypox virus in this cohort is emerging.” from close skin-to-skin contact, for example in the context of sexual activity,” said Dr Ruth Byrne from Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. “However, this finding may be biased by the fact that we are sexual health providers and therefore may not reflect transmission in the wider population.”
A monkeypox infection with these symptoms can mimic common sexually transmitted infections such as herpes and syphilis, she said.
“It is important that sexual health clinicians and patients are aware of the symptoms of monkeypox, as misdiagnosis of the infection can prevent the ability to intervene appropriately and prevent further transmission,” Byrne said.
While fewer of these patients were weak, tired or had a fever than in past outbreaks, about 18% had no symptoms before the skin lesions appeared.
The authors note that their findings may not be representative of the outbreak because their testing was performed in a specific group of infected individuals.
The findings were published July 1 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
More info
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on monkeypox.
SOURCE: The Lancet Infectious Diseases, news release, July 1, 2022.
Articles from your site
Related articles on the web
Add Comment