FILE – This 2003 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows mature, oval, monkeypox virions on the left and spherical immature virions on the right, obtained from from a human skin sample associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak. The Associated Press
Patients with monkeypox in the UK show symptoms markedly different from those seen in previous outbreaks, according to researchers in London, which raises concerns that cases will be missed.
Patients reported less fever and fatigue and more skin lesions in their genital and anal areas than is commonly seen in monkeypox, the study found of 54 patients at London sexual health clinics in May. this year.
Smallpox smallpox, a virus that is generally mild and endemic in several West and Central African countries, has caused more than 5,000 cases and one death outside these areas, mainly in Europe, since early May. Cases have also increased in countries where it is common to spread, according to the World Health Organization.
London research, published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases Journal, follows suggestions from public health agencies such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the outbreak, which is spreading mainly among men who have sex with men, it presents itself in an unusual way.
The authors, from various institutions, such as Chelsea & Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said case definitions should be revised to prevent cases from being overlooked, especially because smallpox can “mimic” others. common sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as herpes and syphilis. The study also found that a quarter of monkeypox patients were HIV positive and a quarter had another STI.
“Misdiagnosis of infection can prevent the opportunity for proper intervention and prevention of subsequent transmission,” said Dr. Ruth Byrne, of the trust.
Smallpox smallpox is spread through close contact and researchers are working to determine if it can also be transmitted through semen, the classic definition of sexual transmission. [L1N2Y20QL]
David Heymann, infectious disease epidemiologist and WHO adviser on the outbreak, said it was important to control the spread without stigmatizing those affected.
“This includes working with the most at-risk populations to try to help them understand how easy it is to prevent this infection, just by avoiding physical contact in the genital area. [when a rash is present]”He told Reuters.
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