The first observational study on the current strain of monkeypox virus shows that patients show different symptoms than previously seen. Doctors fear that the disease will be confused with others, including the most common STIs.
The first study conducted on the current monkeypox epidemic put in light them symptoms caused by the disease – symptoms that differ in frequency and location from those seen in previous outbreaks. This conclusion was made following the follow-up of 54 men infected with monkeypox between May 14 and May 25, 2022 (60% of cases identified over this period) and belonging to the gay community. The study appeared in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
Defining the exact origin of the contamination is always a headache for doctors. In this case, it seems that the patients were contaminated during sexual intercourse, since 47 out of 52 said they had had sexual intercourse in the three weeks preceding the onset of their symptoms. Despite everything, they also indicated that they were not aware of being in contact with people who were already sick.
Skin rashes in the genital area and less frequent fevers
” The most common symptom is skin lesions in the anal and penile regions. The fact that a quarter of patients tested positive for gonorrhea or the chlamydia at the same time suggests that the transmission of monkeypox virus in this cohort occurred during close contact, such as in the context of sexual intercourse says Dr Ruth Byrne of the NHS (National Health Service).
The study highlights important differences in the clinical picture presented by this cohort. Feelings of weakness or fatigue and fever are less common here than in previous studies of monkeypox symptoms. In addition, 18% of patients in this group reported no symptoms before the appearance of the first skin lesions. Doctors in England fear that monkeypox is being confused with STI (common sexually transmitted infections) that cause symptoms likeherpes or the syphilis. To prevent cases of monkeypox from falling by the wayside, they suggest that the list of symptoms of monkeypox, presented as an acute infection with fever, be adapted to the new observations.
In addition, these data have a certain limit: they were only obtained on patients from the gay community and cannot necessarily be generalized to the entire population. Men who have sex with men were the first to be affected by the virus, but it infects everyone, without distinction. Public health France indicates that there are now three infected women ; the origin of their contamination is under investigation. The new balance sheetWHO reports 5,322 confirmed cases of monkeypox worldwide, mostly in North America and Europe.
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