This is yet another post of a few quick notes from the last couple of weeks.
The headline message remains: The risk is low so don’t be concerned, but do be vigilant.
- Cases are appearing with no known contacts with confirmed cases, suggesting transmission is being missed due to undetected circulation of the virus. [1]
- Many cases appear non-typical with the rash appearing before other symptoms. [1]
- DNA sequencing suggests monkeypox may have been circulating in people for years. [2]
- The pattern seen means that there has been sustained human to human transmission since at least 2017 and spreading quite widely in people in Africa. In some African countries person-to-person spread is likely to have gone unnoticed for years. [2]
- Genome sequencing shows that the monkeypox viruses responsible for these cases are closely related to ones detected in a small number of cases in Israel, Nigeria, Singapore and the UK between 2017 and 2019. [2]
- The 47 DNA-letter changes in the latest viruses compared with earlier ones is an unexpectedly high number of mutations. [2]
- We shouldn’t assume that monkeypox won’t evolve to be better at spreading in people if given a chance. [2]
- There is no reason to panic as this is something we can get under control. But we have to take it seriously. [2]
- Genetic testing identified two strains of monkeypox in the US. Most US cases involved the strain linked to the recent outbreak first identified in European countries. However the presence of a second variant suggests the virus may have been spreading unnoticed for some time. Data from many more patients will be needed to estimate how long the virus has been circulating in the US. [3]
- In England it is now a legal requirement for doctors to notify their local council or health protection team about any suspected monkeypox cases – as they have to for measles, scarlet fever and tuberculosis. [4]
- The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has detected to 524 cases as of 14 June. [5]
- More than 1800 cases of monkeypox have now been confirmed in dozens of countries outside Africa in the latest outbreak. [6]
- The World Health Organization has said it will rename monkeypox to avoid discrimination and stigmatisation as the virus continues to spread. The working name is “hMPXV” for “human monkeypox virus”. [6]
References
[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61696974
[2] https://www.newscientist.com/article/2323019-monkeypox-dna-hints-virus-has-been-spreading-in-people-for-years/ [£££]
[3] https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/monkeypox-likely-spread-undetected-in-us-before-recent-reports-70102
[4] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61723964
[5] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/monkeypox-cases-confirmed-in-england-latest-updates
[6] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/15/who-to-rename-monkeypox-virus-to-avoid-discrimination