GVN Monkeypox Information

3504+

Confirmed and Suspected Cases

Monkeypox

  • Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease caused by a Poxvirus known as monkeypox virus.
  • Monkeypox disease results in a smallpox-like disease in humans although it is less severe than smallpox. In general, symptoms begin with fever, headache, muscle pains and feeling tired.
  • Monkeypox is usually a self-limited disease with the symptoms lasting from 2 to 4 weeks.
  • A rash usually appears 1–3 days after the onset of fever and lymphadenopathy, with lesions appearing simultaneously, and evolving at a similar rate. Their distribution is mainly peripheral but can cover the whole body during a severe illness.
  • Human-to-human transmission is relatively inefficient, and this can result from close contact with respiratory secretions, skin lesions of an infected person or recently contaminated objects.
  • In general, outbreaks occur occasionally in sub-Saharan Africa after someone comes in contact with an infected wild animal, and infected travelers sometimes carry the disease to other countries.

Monkeypox virus

  • The virus is closely related to smallpox and vaccinia viruses. Smallpox vaccination was approximately 85% protective against monkeypox
  • Two distinct genetic clades of the monkeypox virus: the West African clade and the Central African (Congo Basin) clade.
  • The West African clade demonstrates a case fatality rate (CFR) <1%, and no human-to-human transmission was documented previously.
  • The Central African clade shows a CFR up to 11% and causes more severe disease and human-to-human transmission.

Available Vaccines

  • ACAM2000: similar to the vaccine used during the smallpox eradication campaign.
  • Jynneos: a nonreplicating form of vaccinia and explicitly approval for monkeypox.

Current Outbreaks of Monkeypox

  • Monkeypox outbreaks have been reported in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, Israel, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Spain, France, Austria, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, and the Netherlands outside Africa.
  • There are 237 confirmed and suspected cases of monkeypox.
  • Current global outbreaks are caused by the West African clade. It is not clear if they represent mutant strains with increased transmissibility or pathogenicity.
  • Most of the cases have lesions exclusively perigenital, perianal, and around the mouth.
  • Almost all of the cases include men aged 20–50, many of whom are gay, bisexual and have sex with men.
  • It is unclear whether sexual transmission is a contributing factor to current outbreak. One of the hypotheses is its transmission after close contact with lesions.

GVN Monkeypox Perspective

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Useful Links

References

  1. Nature. Monkeypox goes global: why scientists are on alert. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01421-8
  2. Shchelkunov SN, Marennikova SS, Moyer RW. Orthopovxiruses Pathogenic for Humans. Chapter: Classification of Poxviruses and Brief Characterization of the Genus. New York, NY: Springer (2005)
  3. Ladnyi ID, Jezek Z, Fenner F, Henderson DA, Arita I. Smallpox and its Eradication Chapter: Human Monkeypox and Other Poxvirus Infections of Man. Geneva: World Health Organization (1988).
  4. Fine PE, Jezek Z, Grab B, Dixon H. The transmission potential of monkeypox virus in human populations. Int J Epidemiol. 1988; 17(3):643–650.
  5. Bunge EM, Hoet B, Chen L, Lienert F, Weidenthaler H, Baer LR, Steffen R. The changing epidemiology of human monkeypox-A potential threat? A systematic review. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2022 Feb 11;16(2):e0010141. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010141. PMID: 35148313; PMCID: PMC8870502.
  6. Science. Monkeypox outbreak questions intensify as cases soar. https://www.science.org/content/article/monkeypox-outbreak-questions-intensify-cases-soar
  7. Sklenovská N, Van Ranst M. Emergence of Monkeypox as the Most Important Orthopoxvirus Infection in Humans. Front Public Health. 2018 Sep 4;6:241.
  8. Nature. Monkeypox goes global: why scientists are on alert. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01421-8