Category Archives: medical

food+drink, history, links, medical, natural history, science

Monthly Links

Here’s another edition of our monthly guide to items you may have missed the first time around.

Science, Technology, Natural World

We’ll start off with one of my favourite subjects: wasps. We need to take sting out of our fear and loathing of wasps and welcome their importance to ecosystems

One of these days scientists will make up their minds. Unlike a while back, they’re now saying dogs arose from two populations of wolves, study finds

In good news, three Sumatran tiger cubs have been born at London Zoo. And they’ve released the usual cute cat pictures.

Scientists at London’s Kew Gardens, with many others, have found that the world’s largest waterlily is in fact a new species, now named Victoria Boliviana. That means there are now three giant waterlily species.
One of the lead scientists, Lucy T Smith, has written a blog item about the discovery. [LONG READ]
And James Wong writes about how the giant waterlilies changed architecture.

While we’re on engineering and architecture, Transport for London engineers have designed and are testing a totally new idea for cooling the London Underground.

Sexuality

In an unsurprising discovery many specialists have pointed out that male sterilisation (aka. vasectomy) isn’t going to solve (America’s) problem with abortions. [LONG READ]

Environment

While on things sexual, researchers are suggesting that grey squirrel numbers could be reduced using oral contraceptives. However I see the law of unintended consequences coming into play if this is tried.

Art, Literature, Language, Music

A look at the way our brains cope with speaking more than one language.

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

Some scientists are now reckoning that early human ancestors are one million years older than previously thought. It’ll be interesting to see if this holds up.

The mysterious Mycenaean and Minoan civilisations were a bedrock for much of Ancient Greece. [LONG READ]

An important hoard of Roman gold coins has been found near Norwich.

Here’s a review of Janina Ramirez’s new book Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages Through the Women Written Out of It.

Dr Eleanor Janega at Going Medieval provides a reading list on medieval abortion.
Meanwhile Scientific American takes a look at abortion and contraception in the Middle Ages. [£££]

Cavers have found a mineshaft in Cheshire which has been completely undisturbed for 200 years and is a useful time capsule.

Clandon Park House was gutted by fire in 2015. The National Trust which owns it has decided it will be mainly conserved as a ruin rather than restored to its former Palladian glory.

If you were a Victorian or Edwardian peer, what would you put in your vampire hunting kit? Well there was one for sale recently at Hanson’s Auctions; it sold for £13,000 (plus fees) some some five times it’s estimate!

London

On the interestingly named Pickle Herring Stairs.

Did you know that London had a naked Routemaster bus?

Apparently there are plans to un-culvert a stretch of the Gores Brook in Dagenham. A move which should be applauded, and repeated elsewhere.

It’s not quite London, but in our fourth item from IanVisits, he goes to Saffron Walden in Essex – a delightful small market town.

Food, Drink

The French authorities, like WHO, have now concluded there’s a definite link between charcuterie and colon cancer, due to the high level of nitrates and nitrites contained therein.

In better news, French scientists think they’ve cracked the puzzle of cultivating prized white truffles.

How safe is it to eat mouldy cheese?

Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

The Guardian goes to meet a handful of the country’s more unusual master craftsmen.

One of my favourite places is the Dungeness and the Romney Marsh. Caroline Reed in Kent Life looks at some of the best of the area.

Shock, Horror, Humour, Wow!

And finally, here’s a list of the rarest boy’s and girl’s names in the UK – 50 of each.

environment, history, links, medical, natural history, science

Monthly Links

This month’s collection of links to items you maybe didn’t want to miss.

Science, Technology, Natural World

Let’s start with one of the hard questions … What is Life? [LONG READ]

New observations from the Gaia telescope have provided the most detailed picture of the Milky Way to date (above).

At the other end of things, there is much we don’t yet know about the ocean depths and what lives there. [LONG READ]

This is amply demonstrated in ever detailed mapping of the depths of the Southern Ocean …

… current investigations of, and hunts for, underwater volcanoes [LONG READ] …

… a flourishing hidden world of marine life discovered under the Antarctic ice …

… and the mysterious sea creatures which surface at night but spend the day in the depths. [LONG READ] [££££]

Back on dry land researchers have proposed a new story of the origin of the domestic chicken 3500 years ago in rice fields.

And now two items on one of my recurrent themes: wasps …
What would happen if all the wasps disappeared? [VIDEO]
And secondly how not to let wasps spoil your picinic.

On a totally different tack, apparently trees around art galleries provide the art works with significant protection from pollution.

It turns out dandelions are more interesting that most of us knew. As a kid I learnt that the petals could be used to make very agreeable wine, the leaves could be put in salad and are a diuretic, and the roots could be roasted and used as a coffee substitute. What I didn’t know is that dandelions can be used to make rubber.

Finally in this section, scientists have discovered the world’s largest bacterium – and it’s the size of an eyelash.

Health, Medicine

Here’s the inside story of RECOVERY, the largest Covid-19 clinical trial, which transformed treatment. [LONG READ]

It is estimated that at least 1 in 7 people worldwide have contracted Lyme disease. [££££]

More surprising news is that 1 in 500 men carry an extra sex chromosome, being either XXY or XYY rather than the normal XY – and most don’t know.

[TRIGGER WARNING] From the “I thought we already knew this” file, a large study has confirmed that most miscarriages are caused by genetic errors. [££££}

Monkeypox may not mutate very quickly, but it still does mutate and adapt.

After some scientists object, the WHO is proposing to rename Monkeypox, but the placeholder name “hMPXV” (human MonkeyPoX Virus) doesn’t seem to me to be so much better.

There are tiny mites living in our hair follicles, and they have sex on our faces at night. And you thought your cat was a furry pervert!

Which brings us nicely(!?) to …

Sexuality

Yet more thoughts on how us geriatrics can still have great sex.

An interview with Julia Shaw about Bi, her new book on bisexuality.

Environment

A pair of peregrines have hatched three chicks on the roof of (my local) Ealing Hospital, which is slightly bizarre as the hospital no longer has a birthing unit.

Social Sciences, Business, Law

I’m not quite sure where these next two items should really belong, so I decided they’re “business” …

Cargo vessels are getting ever larger, but how can you rescue one when it gets into trouble?.

What do you do with an unwanted supertanker?

Some thoughts on Artificial Intelligence and the patent system from our favourite drug research chemist.

Art, Literature, Language, Music

I’ve defined this as art, because, south of Brussels, Charleroi has a truly surreal metro system. [LONG READ]

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

You’ll remember that 5300-year-old mummified corpse found in the Alps some years ago … well it seems that he’s told us a lot about ancestral diet, compared with modern diet. [LOND READ]

There’s an Iron Age site near Cambridge where archaeologists have found the burial of a huge number of frogs – and they don’t know the reason for the burial.

The remains of over 140 people have been found at an Anglo-Saxon burial site on the route of the HS2 rail line.

Another from the annals of the “thought already known” … researchers say that the Black Death almost certainly started in Central Asia.

Here’s Dr Eleanor Janega (our favourite medievalist) on drag, femininity and sexuality in the before times.

Queen Elizabeth I commissioned the pirate Sir Francis Drake to chart the west coast of the Americas, disrupt the Spanish colonisation, and naturally bring back booty. In the process Drake, in the Golden Hind, became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the world, taking 1017 days.

And from the same era, here’s a stunning piece of French interior: La grande cheminée du manoir de Coëtcandec, exposée au château des Rohan à Pontivy. [It’s in French, but the images are stunning.]
[LONG READ]

A century later HMS Gloucester was wrecked off the Norfolk coast. It was carrying the future James II at the time; and I seem to recall Samuel Pepys was involved somewhere. The wreck has been located and is being investigated.

London

Here we have three items from IanVisits …

There are 13 green huts dotted around London; they’re the remaining Cabman’s Shelters (originally there were at least 61). Now another two have been given listed status, making 12 of the remaining 13 protected.

In Pinner churchyard there’s a strange coffin floating in mid-air (well, sort of!).

And here’s Ian’s report of a recent tour of Harrow School.

Food, Drink

It seems that climate change is altering the chemistry of wine, and not always in a good way. [LONG READ]

Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

Finally an number of items on one of my core beliefs: naturism and nudism …
12 reasons to be a nudist.
On the many benefits of naturism.
No, nudity is not sexual – unless you make it so.
Three reasons why nudity is not better accepted.

medical

Monkeypox 7. Another Quick Update

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.

  1. Cases are appearing with no known contacts with confirmed cases, suggesting transmission is being missed due to undetected circulation of the virus. [1]
  2. Many cases appear non-typical with the rash appearing before other symptoms. [1]
  3. DNA sequencing suggests monkeypox may have been circulating in people for years. [2]
  4. 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]
  5. 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]
  6. The 47 DNA-letter changes in the latest viruses compared with earlier ones is an unexpectedly high number of mutations. [2]
  7. We shouldn’t assume that monkeypox won’t evolve to be better at spreading in people if given a chance. [2]
  8. There is no reason to panic as this is something we can get under control. But we have to take it seriously. [2]
  9. 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]
  10. 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]
  11. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has detected to 524 cases as of 14 June. [5]
  12. More than 1800 cases of monkeypox have now been confirmed in dozens of countries outside Africa in the latest outbreak. [6]
  13. 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

current affairs, medical

Monkeypox 6. Quick Updates

This is really going to be just a quick few updates of some of the salient features I spotted in the last few days.

The headline message remains: The risk is low so don’t be concerned, but do be vigilent.

Illness & Precautions

  1. Infection during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage. [1]
  2. A child’s temperature is likely to be higher with monkeypox, and they may complain of backache, lower leg aches, chills, and very tender glands around their neck. The blisters are bigger with monkeypox (cf. chickenpox). [2]
  3. People with monkeypox have been told to avoid contact with their pets for three weeks amid concerns the animals could become infected and pass the virus on to other people. However the risk of someone passing monkeypox to their pet is low and no cases of monkeypox have ever been suspected or reported in pets in the UK. [3]
  4. People who have tested positive for the virus and their close contacts are being told to isolate at home for 21 days. They should avoid contact with other people until all lesions – or blisters – have healed and scabs have dried off. [4]
  5. Anyone testing positive is being told to abstain from sex while they have symptoms, and then use condoms for 8 weeks as a precaution. [4]
  6. Confirmed cases and their close contacts should take extra care if they need to leave the house to see a doctor or other health worker. [4]

Epidemiology

  1. Health officials are reporting that the current monkeypox outbreak is mostly affecting younger men in London. Although anyone can contract the virus, 111 of 183 cases** in England are in men who have sex with men. In England, 86% of those infected live in London and only two are women. Most are aged 20 to 49. [5]
    (** This was a couple of days ago and the numbers have increased since then. The UK government regularly publishes the latest figures etc. [11])
  2. People aged 50 and above are likely to be immune (they’re more likely to have had a smallpox vaccination) but the under-50s are more susceptible. [7]
  3. The recent outbreak of monkeypox is being linked to events taking place in Spain and Belgium, according to a leading advisor to the WHO. And the authorities are investigating possible links between a recent Gay Pride event in the Canary Islands, which drew 80,000 people, and cases at a Madrid sauna. [6]
  4. Experts in Africa have warned that monkeypox could change from a regionally widespread zoonosis to a globally relevant infectious disease. The virus may be filling the ecological and immunological niche once occupied by the smallpox virus now that smallpox vaccination has ceased. [1]
  5. Which means this was an outbreak waiting to happen after the end of global smallpox vaccination more than 40 years ago. [7]
  6. There’s unlikely to be the same “explosive growth” of infections into the general population that was witnessed with Covid. However the outbreak could continue for several months as contact tracing slows but does not stop transmission. [7]
  7. Scientists are working through how the disease came to flare up in so many countries in such a short space of time. Many suspect that monkeypox was circulating at low levels, undetected, in the UK or Europe for several years before it reached the MSM community and flared up. [8]
  8. Genetic studies on monkeypox viruses taken from people in the ongoing outbreak show a close resemblance to the virus that reached the UK, Israel and Singapore from Africa in 2018 and 2019. They all have a common ancestor which probably dates back to 2019. [8]
  9. Data from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the early-1980s and mid-2010s suggest the effective reproduction numbers at those times were 0.3 and 0.6, respectively – meaning each infected person passed the virus to fewer than one person in those populations, on average. [1]
  10. DNA viruses like these are a lot larger and more complicated than RNA viruses like Coronaviruses. Coronaviruses are among the largest RNA viruses known, at about 30,000 base pairs, but things like monkeypox are up over 200,000 bp. [9]

Zoonotic Concerns

  1. The infection can be spread by animals, and pet owners have been urged to “manage exposed pets and prevent the disease from being transmitted to wildlife”. [10]
  2. The EU has warned that the zoonotic transfer to humans could spill over yet again from humans to other mammals, potentially making monkeypox endemic in Europe. That’s a real concern, since we know the disease can be carried by a variety of small mammals. But what we don’t know is the likelihood of humans passing it on to animals, or the disease getting established among those animal populations in the wild. [9]
  3. Some of our most troublesome infectious disease threats – think Ebola, or Nipah, or coronaviruses, and now monkeypox – are disproportionately zoonotic diseases. [1]

References

[1] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-we-know-about-the-rise-in-monkeypox-cases-worldwide/ [£££]
[2] https://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/national/uk-today/20163472.uk-monkeypox-outbreak-tell-difference-chickenpox-monkeypox/
[3] https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/may/27/monkeypox-patients-contact-pets-uk
[4] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61640196
[5] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61660180
[6] https://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/national/uk-today/20160206.monkeypox-outbreak-sex-raves-spain-belgium-may-blame/
[7] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/24/monkeypox-outbreak-was-waiting-to-happen-say-scientists
[8] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/25/monkeypox-may-have-been-circulating-in-uk-for-years-scientists-say
[9] https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/now-monkeypox
[10] https://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/national/uk-today/20162530.monkeypox-pet-owners-urged-manage-exposed-pets-uk-cases-rise/
[11] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/monkeypox-cases-confirmed-in-england-latest-updates

history, links, medical, natural history, science

Monthly Links

Our monthly collection of links to items you may have missed. It’s the usual miscellaneous collection.

Science, Technology, Natural World

That big explosive volcano in Tonga is still surprisngly intact although the caldera looks to be a huge hole.

On the curiosity of organ pipes apparently violating a rule of sound.

And now for something completely different, for which I see many new applications … Apparently female mice release banana-scented urine when pregnant to deter males. [£££]

You all know by now that wasps are one of my favourite subjects. Here are two articles from Seirian Sumner, who’s book on wasps Endless Forms is out this week. First a piece in the Observer Magazine, and then her take on five facts about the gruesomeness of solitary wasps. [Prof. Seirian Sumner is the academic who runs the Big Wasp Survey which I’ve contributed to over the last several years.]

Back to more mundane(?) animals, researchers have been looking at the domestication of the horse. [LONG READ]

Jackdaws are democratic and use noise to make decisions.

Health, Medicine

Medicine in particular, and all of us in general, need to reassess and update our knowledge and the history of the female body.

Having said which, here’s a piece on how sex affects our immune systems and our brains.

Sexuality

The UK’s Office for National Statistics has found that for the first time ever over 10% of young women identify as “lesbian, gay, bisexual or other”.

Social Sciences, Business, Law

On the issues around making conscious software, why we should an why we shouldn’t. [£££]

Art, Literature, Language, Music

Historian and mythographer Marina Warner visits the British Museum’s exhibition Feminine Power: The Divine to the Demonic, which explores the volcanic power of goddess cults.

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

New research on human coprolites reveals parasite eggs which suggest the builders of Stonehenge ate undercooked offal.

Workers at Osuna in southern Spain have uncovered an important, and hitherto unknown, Phoenician necropolis.

The Romans used silphium for just about everything: perfume, medicine, aphrodisiac and condiment. But in trying to cultivate it and increase yields they killed it.

Researchers have managed to successfully sequence the genome of a Pompeii victim. Turns out he was “Italian”!

Melting ice on an alpine pass in Norway has revealed a 1500-year-old shoe amongst many other artefacts.

The Amazon appears to be full of lost pre-Columbian settlements and urban sprawl.

A short item on Ragged Schools, and especially the one for girls in Hastings.

Modern purple dyes were invented in London in the 1850s and initially manufactured close to where I now live.

Two short articles on the eccentricity that is Winchelsea Beach in Sussex.

IanVisits goes to look at the de Haviland Aircraft Museum on the edge of North London.

Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

Now here’s a real first world problem if ever there was one … should we embrace a cashless society? But one thing the author overlooks is that in a cashless society everything becomes electronic – which is fine until there’s a computer or power outage (accidental or sabotage).

Our favourite zen master, Brad Warner, is another one with a new book coming out.

And finally … they’re generally hated, but we should really like them: stinging nettles. Eat them, make fabric from them, or just let them be to grow butterflies.

medical

Monkeypox 5. Two Important Articles

I’m not going to provide another round-up of news on monkeypox; I’ll do that when there is some useful news.

However there are two important articles in the last couple of days which I want to draw attention to.

How to tell if your rash is monkeypox? See this from the BBC: Got a new rash? Monkeypox or something else?

Secondly many experts are saying that monkeypox is actually not what we should be worrying about; there are far more dangerous diseases waiting to pounce. See: Monkeypox isn’t the disease we should be worried about.

medical, science

Monkeypox 4: SitRep

My latest update on the background to the monkeypox scare.

UK Situation

  1. As of the time of writing the UK has identified 71 cases. [4]
  2. The vast majority of identified cases are isolating at home and do not require hospital admission. [1]
  3. The closest contacts of confirmed cases are being offered the smallpox vaccine. This is the so-called “ring vaccination”. [1]
  4. These closest contacts – anyone who has had direct or household contact with a confirmed case – are being told to isolate for 21 days (ie. the longest incubation period). [1,2]
  5. The same high-risk contacts are advised to avoid immunosuppressed people, pregnant women and children under 12, as these groups are more vulnerable to serious infections. [1]
  6. Contacts are being asked to provide their details for contact tracing. [2]
  7. Sexual Health Clinics are still open for business, but are reported to be doing telephone triage. [4]

Global Situation

  1. More than 131 confirmed cases are being investigated in 15 countries. [4]
  2. More than half the cases are in Spain and Portugal. [1]
  3. The WHO says the outbreak is “containable” and is providing advice to countries on how to tackle the situation. [4]
  4. There seems to be some scaremongering (emanating from the NHS?) that you can be infected by eating meat. [5] Frankly, in my view, this is nonsense. Yes, in theory it may be possible to catch monkeypox from eating undercooked meat from an infected animal – which almost certainly means bushmeat. The chances of a food animal getting monkeypox and getting into the human food chain has to be vanishingly small.

Epidemiology

  1. Genetic analysis of three monkeypox viruses from the outbreak have found it closely matches the virus that spread from Nigeria in 2018 and 2019. [1]
  2. Monkeypox is less transmissible than SARS-CoV-2; the original Wuhan strain had an R0 of about 2.5. Monkeypox has had R0 under 1 in past outbreaks. [3]
  3. A high fraction of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, maybe half(?), comes from people who aren’t showing symptoms at the time; whereas monkeypox transmission before symptom onset seems to be relatively rare, if it happens at all. [3]
  4. The fact that very little if any monkeypox transmission occurs without symptoms means that if people start isolating once they begin to feel sick, they should be able to prevent almost all onward transmission. [3]
  5. Moreover monkeypox spreads slowly (symptom onset is 5-21 days from infection) compared with Covid (symptom onset 1-4 days). [4]
  6. This long incubation time gives contact tracers more time to identify contacts and set up ring vaccination. [3]
  7. Putting that all together suggests that cases are unlikely to rapidly increase and get out of control. [3]
  8. Studies suggest that a Belgian man contracted the virus on a recent trip to Portugal. [1]
  9. The pattern of the outbreak suggests the virus is spreading primarily through sexual networks. [1]
  10. Super-spreader events may have boosted the outbreak since it arrived in Europe. [1] This could be around the rave scene in Spain; a Gay Pride event in the Canary Islands is apparently being investigated. [6]
  11. Cases are being found which have no identified contact with west Africa. [2]
  12. Scientists have a big challenge as they currently do not know how many unreported cases there are; they’re currently seeing only the tip of the iceberg. [2]

References

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/22/monkeypox-uk-health-security-agency-to-announce-more-cases
[2] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61546480
[3] https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1528450298901155841.html
[4] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61570562
[5] https://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/national/uk-today/20159989.monkeypox-nhs-issues-warning-anyone-eats-meat-uk-cases-rise/
[6] https://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/national/uk-today/20160206.monkeypox-outbreak-sex-raves-spain-belgium-may-blame/

medical, science

Monkeypox 3: Viral Replication

Following up on my earlier comment about monkeypox being a DNA virus and different to SARS-Cov-2 (which is an RNA virus), I figured a bit more (very low tech) explanation may help. First off some very simple explanations. (Don’t worry if you don’t know what any of these things are; just think of them as “stuff” or “method”.)

Virus. A pseudo-cell basically composed of some minimal amount of genetic code (DNA or RNA) encapsulated in a lipid (ie. fatty) membrane. It is unable to reproduce on it’s own and has to hijack the machinery of a host cell to make more copies of itself.

DNA. This is the chemical code which holds all our genes. It is composed of the “double helix” of two strands of DNA twined round each other – think of two intertwined springs. In order for the cell machinery to read the text of the DNA the two strands have to be zipped apart and then afterwards zipped back together. Think of this as a whole jumbled box of knitting patterns

RNA. This is essentially a short piece of code created from a piece of a single strand of DNA; it typically provides the instructions for making a single protein. Think of it as a single knitting pattern, extracted from that box of patterns.

Transcription is the process of unzipping the DNA and copying it to make the RNA; this happens only in the cell nucleus (the strong box which holds the DNA). As in all copying, errors can creep in. So the machinery in the cell nucleus contains a proofreading function which finds the errors and discards the overwhelming majority of them.

There are essentially two types of virus, characterised by how they store their genetic information: DNA viruses and RNA viruses.

DNA viruses (for example, monkeypox) have to insert their genetic code, held as DNA, into the cell nucleus, as that’s the only place where it can be transcribed into RNA. So transcription errors are booted out by the proofreading function and mutation happens very rarely.

RNA viruses (for example, SARS-Cov-2 and flu) don’t have DNA; their genetic code is held as RNA. RNA doesn’t use the cell nucleus for transcription and hence can’t take advantage of the proofreading function. So transcription errors don’t get weeded out and mutations happen very frequently.

The process of using RNA as a blueprint to make proteins etc. is called translation.

And that is an incredibly simplified description of the processes. The details are hideously complex, so hideously complex one can quite see why some people find it hard to believe this has arisen through evolution.

Here’s an equally very simplified diagram (what I drew) of the processes.

Very basic cell process and how it’s used by viruses
Click the image for a larger view

So that hopefully shows why Covid-19 is dangerous, why we need a new flu vaccine every year, and why we hopefully don’t need to be too worried about monkeypox.

medical

Monkeypox 2. More Background

Here’s some more background on Monkeypox, following my item from Friday.

Let’s be very clear, right up front … We are not witnessing another Covid, and we’re not days away from lockdowns to contain the spread of monkeypox. However, this is an unusual and unprecedented monkeypox outbreak which has taken scientists who specialise in the disease by surprise – and that’s always a concern. [4]

Spread & Behaviour

  1. Monkeypox is so rare that that most doctors will never see a case in their lifetimes. [2]
  2. Monkeypox is not known to spread easily between people, although cases emerging in several countries at once, and signs of transmission in the community is striking. [1,2]
  3. However the UKHSA saying the risk to the population “remains low”. [1]
  4. The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states: “Human-to-human transmission is thought to occur primarily through large respiratory droplets. Respiratory droplets generally cannot travel more than a few feet, so prolonged face-to-face contact is required.” [1]
  5. The virus doesn’t usually spread easily between people as it requires prolonged close contact. [3]
  6. Its R value is generally less than 1, so outbreaks naturally peter out. [3]
  7. Monkeypox can also spread through close contact or by contact with clothing, towels or bedding used by an infected person. [1,3]
  8. It isn’t regarded as a sexually transmitted infection, but it can be passed on during sex via skin-to-skin contact. (This should not be surprising!) [1]
  9. It’s not clear why gay and bisexual men are disproportionately affected. Are sexual behaviours making it easier to spread, or is this just coincidence? After all this is, in general, a community that is more aware of sexual health and getting checked out. [4]
  10. So the latest cases raise many questions and the scientists don’t really have the sense yet of what’s driving this, especially as there’s no travel link that’s identified that links the cases. [2]
  11. So the scientists are very much in response mode: trying to identify cases and trace potential contacts. And because many of the cases don’t join up scientists are aware they’re seeing only the tip of the iceberg. [2,4]

Symptoms

  1. The incubation period between infection and symptoms is long, ranging from five to 21 days. [3]
  2. The first symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. [1]
  3. A rash can also develop, typically on the face first and then on other parts of the body, mainly hands, feet and genitals. The rash can initially look like chickenpox, before forming scabs. [1]
  4. Swollen lymph nodes are a defining feature found in monkeypox but not so common in chickenpox. Currently there are very few kids with monkeypox but the UK is seeing a big surge in chickenpox. So sick kids are more likely to have chickenpox, but be vigilant. [5]
  5. The pictures of large blisters and scabs in the media are an unusual presentation and thought to be more common with the more serious Congo strain of the virus. Most presentation is with small pustules and lesions which are no more than 5mm in size. (Pictures in the references.) [5]

Different Strains

  1. There are two main types of monkeypox: the Congo strain and the West African strain. Only the West African strain has been identified in the UK. [1]
  2. The death rate from the Congo strain is thought to be 1 in 10, whereas it is only 1 in 100 for the West Africa strain.
    These are likely to be upper estimates as it is unknown how many (mild) cases go unreported. [1]
  3. It is unknown at this time if the current outbreak is due to a new strain of monkeypox. The sequencing work now being carried out should tell us. [1]
  4. Very early genetic analysis suggests the current cases are very closely related to forms of the virus seen in 2018 and 2019. It is too early to be sure, but for now there is no evidence this is a new mutant variant at play. [4]

Treatments

  1. The antiviral drug tecovirimat is approved in Europe for treating monkeypox, smallpox and cowpox; and approved in the US for smallpox. [1]
  2. The Jynneos vaccine is approved in the US and Europe for preventing monkeypox and smallpox in people aged over 18.
  3. In addition, those who are old enough to have been vaccinated against smallpox as babies should have some protection. Routine smallpox vaccination ended in the UK in 1971 and in the US in 1972. [1]

Pandemic?

  1. Monkeypox isn’t COVID. They’re very different diseases caused by different viruses with markedly different properties. COVID was completely unfamiliar when it first appeared, but monkeypox is a known quantity, and experts on the virus actually exist. [3]
  2. While researchers aren’t completely ruling out a pandemic, they don’t think it is at all likely. [1]
  3. Experts stress that monkeypox is very different from coronavirus. Monkeypox is a DNA virus so it does not mutate as rapidly as Covid or flu. [4]
  4. They’re also saying it’s important not to put this on the same level as a novel coronavirus. [1]
  5. Nevertheless monkeypox is a test of the lessons that the world has (or hasn’t) learned from COVID. [3]
  6. The US, at least, is in a better position with monkeypox than with Covid. They had not planned for a coronavirus pandemic, but they have spent decades thinking about how to handle smallpox bioterrorism. [3]
  7. The UKHSA are saying the risk to the UK population amid the ongoing outbreak “remains low”. [1]

Finally … Be vigilant. If you’re at all concerned phone 111 (in UK) or your doctor. But if you think you might have monkeypox DON’T just turn up at a doctor’s surgery (or sexual health clinic, or hospital); phone ahead so they know you’re coming and can prepare appropriate PPE and protective measures. [5]

References

[1] https://www.newscientist.com/article/2321212-could-monkeypox-become-a-pandemic-heres-everything-you-need-to-know/
[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/05/18/monkeypox-faq/
[3] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61524508
[5] Meaghan Kall of UKHSA on Twitter; https://twitter.com/kallmemeg/status/1528044499288657920

medical

Monkeypox

OK guys, so here’s another (not quite new) zoonotic disease for us to get our heads round and which piques my forensic nature: Monkeypox.

As of writing there are now 20 cases reported in the UK [1], with over 100 across mainland Europe [5] – where there seems to be a hotspot in Spain – and cases in the US, Canada and Australia. It is being suggested [2] that a number of cases will be being missed due to a similarity with chickenpox.

Monkeypox is a viral disease which is thought to be carried mostly by rodents and is prevalent in remote central and western areas Africa. Cases outside Africa are almost always associated with travel to that continent. That makes the current outbreak in the UK and beyond especially interesting. Although the first reported UK case in early May was in someone recently returned from west Africa, many of the more recent cases apparently do not have an obvious connection to African travel. Perhaps even more interesting is that a significant number of the UK cases are in men who have sex with men (MSM).

The virus is not transmitted in the same way as Covid or flu, but through close bodily contact with an infected person; it can enter the body through broken skin, the airways, eyes, nose or mouth [3]. However it has not previously been described as a sexually transmitted infection – although sex tends to involve close bodily contact! Spread is also possible from infected animals (eg. monkeys, rodents) or from virus-contaminated objects (eg. bedding and clothing).

Unfortunately the initial symptoms are very much like most viral illnesses: fever, headaches, swollen glands, back pain, aching muscles and a general listlessness. Only later does the rash develop; it often begins on the face, and then spreads to other parts of the body, most commonly the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. The rash, which can be extremely itchy, goes through several stages before forming a scab, which later falls off. Although there is no treatment for monkeypox, and no specific vaccine, most cases resolve within 2-3 weeks.

As the name implies, monkeypox is an Orthopoxvirus very closely related to smallpox (also cowpox). The smallpox vaccine is reportedly highly effective protection [3], so anyone who has been vaccinated against smallpox should have some protecton. Have you been vaccinated against smallpox? Smallpox vaccination was compulsory in the UK between 1853 and 1971 [4] so many people over 50 will have been vaccinated, although apparently compliance was falling before the vaccination requirement was removed.

Should we be worried? Current advice is NO. The risk to the public at large is thought to be very low especially as the virus does not spread easily. But then we originally thought that about Covid-19. So no, don’t panic or be alarmed; but do remain alert and if in any doubt about symptoms talk to your GP.

References
[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61506562
[2] https://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/national/uk-today/20154025.monkeypox-cases-uk-double-20/
[3] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-45665821
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK545998/
[5] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/monkeypox-virus-infection-case-symptoms-live-uk-b2083515.html