Jump to content

2022–2023 mpox outbreak

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Otávio Astor Vaz Costa (talk | contribs) at 16:33, 21 May 2022. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

2022 monkeypox outbreak
File:Monkeypox.gif
Electron micrograph of monkeypox virus
DiseaseHuman monkeypox
Virus strainMonkeypox virus (MPV), West African clade, Nigeria 2017–2019 outbreak subclade[1]
SourceTravel from Nigeria (presumed/hypothesis)[2][3]
LocationGlobal
 Australia
 Belgium
 Canada
 France
 Germany
 Israel
 Italy
 Netherlands
 Portugal
 Spain
 Sweden
 Switzerland
 United Kingdom
 United States
First outbreakLondon, England
Date4 May 2022 – ongoing (2 years, 1 month, and 25 days)
Confirmed cases112
Suspected cases‡31
Severe casesAt least 3 hospitalised
Deaths
0
‡Suspected cases have not been confirmed by laboratory tests as being due to this strain, although some other strains may have been ruled out.
A map of the spread of the monkeypox virus globally.
  West African clade endemic
  Central African clade endemic
  Both clades recorded
  West African clade outbreak in 2022

An ongoing outbreak of monkeypox was confirmed on 6 May 2022 in the United Kingdom, beginning in a British resident who had travelled to Nigeria, where the disease is endemic, and while there, presented symptoms consistent with monkeypox on 29 April 2022. This person returned to the United Kingdom on 4 May, importing the index case of the outbreak into the country.[4]

The source of several of the cases of monkeypox in the United Kingdom is unknown. Some monitors see community transmission taking place in the London area as of mid-May.[5] Cases of the virus have also been reported in North East and South East England,[6] as well as outside the UK: 23 in Portugal, one in Sweden, one in Italy, three in Belgium, two in the United States, one in the Netherlands,[7] seven in Canada, 30 in Spain, one in Germany (this being a brazilian residing in Germany [8]) ,[9] one in Israel,[10] and two in Australia as of 20 May 2022.[11][12]

Background

Human monkeypox is a viral infection caused by the monkeypox virus (MPV), a relative of now-eradicated smallpox. Monkeypox generally presents with similar symptoms to smallpox, although usually milder. Its case fatality rate may be as high as 10% without prompt treatment.[13][dubious – discuss]

Monkeypox is endemic to West and Central Africa.[14][15] Prior to the 2022 outbreak, the United Kingdom had only recorded seven previous cases of monkeypox,[16] all of which were imported cases from Africa or healthcare workers involved in their treatment. The first three such cases were in 2018,[17] followed by a further case in 2019[18] and three more in 2021.[19] The only major monkeypox outbreak to be recorded in a Western country prior to 2022 was the 2003 Midwest monkeypox outbreak in the United States. That one did not feature community transmission.[20][21]

Monkeypox is spread primarily through close contact with infectious people.[22] Prior to the 2022 outbreak, monkeypox was not considered to be a sexually transmitted infection (STI)[5] and some experts doubt that it has morphed into one.[23] The rapid spread of the virus between sexual partners in the initial stages of the outbreak has prompted discussion that sexual intercourse may be a further route of transmission.[5] It is not yet clear whether or not it has become an STI.[23]

Timeline

United Kingdom

Guy's Hospital, where the April case was hospitalised.

In early May 2022, the case was reported of a British resident who travelled to Lagos and Delta State in Nigeria,[22] in areas where monkeypox is considered to be an endemic disease. The patient developed symptoms of monkeypox, including a rash, on 29 April while still in Nigeria. They subsequently flew back to the United Kingdom, arriving on 4 May. They presented to hospital later the same day; monkeypox infection was immediately suspected, and the patient was hospitalised at Guy's Hospital[17] and isolated, then tested positive for the virus on 6 May.[22] Testing of patient swab samples by polymerase chain reaction revealed the outbreak to be of the West African clade of monkeypox, which is the less deadly of the two known monkeypox variants with a case fatality rate of around 1%.[22]

Extensive contact tracing of people who had been in contact with the index case both on the international flight from Nigeria to the United Kingdom and within the country following their arrival was carried out, with potential contacts advised to remain aware of the symptoms of monkeypox and immediately isolate if any were to develop within 21 days of the contact event.[22] Following this contact tracing effort, the World Health Organization (WHO) considered further transmission of the virus within the United Kingdom to be of "minimal" risk.[22]

Contact tracing in response to the case was extended to Scotland on 14 May according to Public Health Scotland. A "small number" of people in Scotland were ordered to self-isolate following close contact with the person initially reported to have been infected, although overall risk to the general public remained "very low".[17]

Two new cases of monkeypox were confirmed by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on 12 May, both of which were in London.[24] These two lived together in the same household, with no known link between either of them and either the index case or travel to endemic regions. One of the new cases was hospitalised at St Mary's Hospital, while the other case with milder symptoms was said to be self-isolating at home.[24]

Four cases of monkeypox were confirmed by the UKHSA on 17 May, in three Londoners and a person in North East England who had previously travelled to London.[25] None of these new cases had any known contact history with the previous three confirmed cases, suggesting that wider community transmission of the virus was now underway in the London area. The UKHSA stated that the risk to the general public remained "very low".[25][5] Patients with active monkeypox infection were confirmed to be hospitalised at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle upon Tyne and at the Royal Free Hospital and Guy's Hospital in London.[25]

On 20 May, it was reported by Sajid Javid that another eleven cases had been confirmed in the UK, bringing the total in the country to twenty. A representative of the UKHSA urged watchfulness among gay and bisexual men, who have made up a disproportionate number of cases in the UK and Europe.[26]

Cases beyond Africa

On 18 May in Portugal, 14 cases of monkeypox were reported by health authorities out of total of 20 suspected cases. Two samples' test results were pending.[27] In Spain, there are seven confirmed cases as of 18 May.[28] On the same day, the United States confirmed its first 2022 case of monkeypox and Canada reported 13 suspected cases.[29][30]

On 19 May, Sweden and Belgium reported their first cases of monkeypox,[31][32] while Italy confirmed its first case in a traveller who had arrived from the Canary Islands.[33] A suspected case was reported in France.[34] A genomic analysis conducted on a case in Portugal places the virus infecting that patient in the West African clade, finding it most closely related to viruses associated with cases exported from Nigeria in 2018 and 2019.[35] Current sequencing error prevents exact placement of the virus within the group of these Nigerian viruses.[1]

Following the detection of a case in Massachusetts the previous day, the United States on 19 May placed a $299 million order for 13 million monkeypox vaccines from Bavarian Nordic.[36]

On 20 May, Australia reported its first suspected case, in a man who fell ill after returning from travel in Europe.[37] A second case was also confirmed on the same day. The cases were identified as being in Melbourne and Sydney. Both were recently returned from travel in Europe.[38] Germany and the Netherlands confirmed their first cases on the same day.[9][7]

World Health Organization response

On 20 May, the World Health Organization (WHO) held an emergency meeting to discuss the outbreak:[39]

Cases by country and territory
Country Confirmed Suspected Total Last update First confirmed case
 Australia 2 — 2 20 May 2022[12] 20 May 2022[19]
 Belgium 3 1 4 20 May 2022 [40] 19 May 2022 [32]
 Canada 22 4 26 19 May 2022[41] 21 May 2022[41]
 France 1 — 1 19 May 2022[42] 20 May 2022[43]
 Germany 1 — 1 20 May 2022[9] 20 May 2022[9]
 Israel 1 0 1 20 May 2022 20 May 2022[10][44]
 Italy 3 — 3 20 May 2022[45] 19 May 2022[45]
 Netherlands 1 several 1 20 May 2022[7] 20 May 2022[7]
 Portugal 23 11 34 20 May 2022[46] 18 May 2022[47]
 Spain 30 23 53 20 May 2022[48] 18 May 2022[49]
 Sweden 1 — 1 19 May 2022[50] 19 May 2022[50]
  Switzerland 1 — 1 21 May 2022 21 May 2022
 United Kingdom 20 1 21 20 May 2022[26] 4 May 2022[51]
 United States 2 0 2 20 May 2022[52] 18 May 2022[53][54]
Total 113 37 148

References

  1. ^ a b Rambaut, Andrew (21 May 2022). "Discussion of on-going MPXV genome sequencing". Virological.org. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Monkeypox spreads in West, baffling African scientists". ABC News. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  3. ^ Mandavilli, Apoorva (18 May 2022). "A Massachusetts Man Is Infected With Monkeypox". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Monkeypox – United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". World Health Organization. 16 May 2022. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d Pinkstone, Joe (17 May 2022). "Monkeypox 'spreading in sexual networks'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  6. ^ "We've detected 2 additional cases of #Monkeypox, one in London and one in the South East of England". Twitter. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d Reuters (20 May 2022). "Dutch health agency confirms first monkeypox case in the Netherlands". Reuters. Retrieved 20 May 2022. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ "Ministry of Health follows the case of a Brazilian who contracted monkeypox". R7.com (in Portuguese). 20 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d "Erster Fall von Affenpocken in Deutschland bestätigt". Die Zeit (in German). Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Israel Detects First Suspected Case of Monkeypox Virus". Haaretz. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Health officials to provide update on suspected cases of monkeypox in Montreal". Montreal. 19 May 2022. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Monkeypox confirmed in Melbourne and Sydney". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 20 May 2022. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  13. ^ "Signs and Symptoms Monkeypox". CDC. 16 July 2021. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  14. ^ Bunge, Eveline M.; Hoet, Bernard; Chen, Liddy; Lienert, Florian; Weidenthaler, Heinz; Baer, Lorraine R.; Steffen, Robert (11 February 2022). "The changing epidemiology of human monkeypox – A potential threat? A systematic review". PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 16 (2): e0010141. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0010141. ISSN 1935-2735. PMC 8870502. PMID 35148313.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  15. ^ "Monkeypox". www.who.int. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  16. ^ "Monkeypox contact tracing extended to Scotland". BBC News. 14 May 2022. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  17. ^ a b c "Monkeypox contact tracing extended to Scotland". BBC News. 14 May 2022. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  18. ^ "Monkeypox case confirmed in England". GOV.UK. Public Health England. 4 December 2019. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  19. ^ a b "Australia's first confirmed monkeypox case recorded in Victoria". 7News. 19 May 2022. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  20. ^ Linda Spice, "13 Sick After Prairie Dog Contact; Milwaukee Pet Store Employee, Two OthersRemain Hospitalized," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 6 June 2003.
  21. ^ Todd Richmond. Four Get Monkeypox Virus from Prairie Dogs." Associated Press. 6 November 2003.
  22. ^ a b c d e f "Monkeypox – United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". World Health Organization. 16 May 2022. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  23. ^ a b Rigby, Jennifer; Grover, Natalie (20 May 2022). "WHO calls emergency meeting as monkeypox cases top 100 in Europe". Reuters. Retrieved 21 May 2022. It was too early to say if the illness has morphed into a sexually transmitted disease, said Alessio D'Amato, health commissioner of the Lazio region in Italy. [...] "The idea that there's some sort of sexual transmission in this, I think, is a little bit of a stretch," said Stuart Neil, professor of virology at Kings College London.
  24. ^ a b "Monkeypox: Two more confirmed cases of viral infection". BBC News. 15 May 2022. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  25. ^ a b c "Monkeypox: Four more cases detected in England". BBC News. 17 May 2022. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  26. ^ a b "UK monkeypox cases double to 20 – Sajid Javid". BBC News. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  27. ^ "Monkeypox. Já há 14 casos de varíola dos macacos em Portugal". www.dn.pt (in European Portuguese). Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  28. ^ Güell, Oriol (18 May 2022). "Sanidad confirma que los análisis de los siete primeros casos sospechosos de viruela del mono han dado positivo". El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  29. ^ "Massachusetts confirms rare monkeypox case, the first in the US this year". Boston Herald. 18 May 2022. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  30. ^ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Santé-. "Variole du singe : au moins 13 cas en cours d'examen à Montréal". Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  31. ^ "Ett fall av apkoppor rapporterat i Sverige – Folkhälsomyndigheten". Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  32. ^ a b "Eerste besmetting met apenpokkenvirus vastgesteld in ons land". VRT NWS (in Dutch). 19 May 2022. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  33. ^ "Italy reports first case of monkeypox infection, two more suspected". Reuters. 19 May 2022. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  34. ^ "Monkeypox cases investigated in Europe, US, Canada and Australia". BBC. 20 May 2022. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  35. ^ Borges, Vítor (19 May 2022). "First draft genome sequence of Monkeypox virus associated with the suspected multi-country outbreak, May 2022 (confirmed case in Portugal)". Virological.org. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  36. ^ "U.S. government places $119 million order for 13 million freeze-dried Monkeypox vaccines". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  37. ^ "Monkeypox cases investigated in Europe, US, Canada and Australia". BBC News. 20 May 2022. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  38. ^ Parkes-Hupton, Heath; Johnson, Sian (20 May 2022). "Monkeypox confirmed in Melbourne and Sydney". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Commission. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  39. ^ Rigby, Jennifer (20 May 2022). "WHO to hold emergency meeting on monkeypox on Friday -sources". Reuters. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  40. ^ "Isolatie tot letsels verdwenen zijn bij besmetting met apenpokken, overheid en sensoa roepen op tot waakzaamheid" (in Dutch). 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  41. ^ a b "2 monkeypox cases confirmed in Quebec — the first in Canada". CBC News. 19 May 2022. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  42. ^ Berrod, Nicolas (19 May 2022). "Variole du singe : après un premier cas suspect en France, faut-il craindre une épidémie?". Le Parisien (in French). Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  43. ^ "France, Germany, Belgium report first monkeypox cases amid unusual spread in Europe". France 24. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  44. ^ "Israel Detects First Suspected Case of Monkeypox Virus". Haaretz.
  45. ^ a b "Italy confirms two more monkeypox infections, brings total cases to three". Reuters. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  46. ^ "Varíola dos macacos: sobe para 23 número de casos em Portugal". SIC Notícias (in European Portuguese). 20 May 2022.
  47. ^ "Monkeypox. Já há 14 casos de varíola dos macacos em Portugal". www.dn.pt (in European Portuguese). Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  48. ^ "España ya es el país con más casos de viruela no humana del mundo fuera de África". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 20 May 2022.
  49. ^ "Monkeypox cases investigated in Europe, US and Canada". BBC News. 19 May 2022. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  50. ^ a b "Sweden reports first case of monkeypox". The News International. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  51. ^ "Monkeypox - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". World Health Organization. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  52. ^ Muller, Madison (19 May 2022). "Possible Monkeypox Infection Identified in NYC, Officials Say". Bloomberg. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  53. ^ "Massachusetts confirms rare monkeypox case, the first in the US this year". Boston Herald. 18 May 2022. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  54. ^ [https://news.yahoo.com/second-person-tests-positive-monkeypox-004132284.html NBC News Second person tests positive for monkeypox in United States], NBC News, Tim Stelloh, May 20, 2022

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2022–2023_mpox_outbreak&oldid=1089048969"