“Monkeypox: Unraveling the Mystery of a Rare Disease”
A detailed analysis of monkeypox case records published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday provides new insight into the outbreak that is Monkeypos disproportionately affecting men who have sex with men, especially those who are black and Hispanic.
As of July 22, there have been 2,891 cases of monkeypox reported in the United States, about two months after the first case was reported.
For many of these reported cases, the additional epidemiologic and clinical information was incomplete, and not all details were available for all of the reports.
Public Health Efforts
Public health efforts should prioritize gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, who are currently disproportionately affected, for prevention and testing, while addressing equity, minimizing stigma, and maintaining vigilance for transmission in other populations, the authors of a new CDC report say.
When we analysed this further, we found that all of the patients had a rash. During the current monkeypox outbreak, the genital rash was more commonly reported than in typical human cases.
Early warning signs of illness are less common in the current outbreak compared to “typical” monkeypox. About two-fifths of patients have no known risk factor.
About 2 in 5 cases reported that they did not have fever when their condition was actually diagnosed as dengue fever.
Anyone who has a rash consistent with monkeypox should be tested for the virus, regardless of their sex or gender identity or the presence of other symptoms.
It was estimated that among those cases for which data was available, fewer than 1 in 10 (8%) required hospitalization because of monkeypox. There were no deaths reported.
Of those for whom vaccination status was available, 14% had gotten a vaccine for smallpox, including 3% who had gotten one dose of Jynneos during this outbreak.
At least one person who received the Jynneos vaccine developed a rash more than three weeks after receiving it.
More than a third of all cases of monkeypox have been reported in people with HIV, who are at higher risk of having more severe symptoms and possibly dying. More analysis is being done to determine the cause of these deaths.
The agency said it will continue to evaluate new evidence about the disease and update its response strategies as more information becomes available.