The Disease Formerly Known as Monkeypox (Now Mpox)

[McLaren]

Smallpox vaccine isn't mandated in the US? WTF

It's not available to the public & hasn't been required since it was deemed eliminated in 1980. Now-a-days, as far as I can find, the vaccine is only given to those who work around the virus.

 

[Joey D]

Smallpox vaccine isn't mandated in the US? WTF

There's no reason to since smallpox is effectively eradicated. The last "wild" infection was in 1977 in Somalia. There's now a greater risk of a reaction to the smallpox vaccine than the risk to get smallpox, and when this became apparent in the 1980s, the vaccine was discontinued. Many countries still have a large stockpile of vaccines on hand though for things like a terrorist attack or a lab leak. Infectious disease clinicians, lab employees, and military members still get the vaccine though depending on what they're doing.

 

[Joey D]

I'm really starting to see some parallels between the first few days of COVID and monkeypox:

WHO: Nearly 200 cases of monkeypox in more than 20 countries

LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization says nearly 200 cases of monkeypox have been reported in more than 20 countries not usually known to have outbreaks of the unusual disease, but described the epidemic as “containable” and proposed creating a stockpile to equitably share the limited...

apnews.com

I don't think there's cause for alarm, but it is concerning, especially since the WHO is undercounting known cases. If the UK has 106, Spain has 98, and Portugal has 74 that's 278 cases, a bit more than "nearly 200". There are 11 in the US and a handful elsewhere, so the real number is more than 300. Last week it was 92, which means cases have tripled and we're not sure if what part of the curve we're on. I'm hopeful it's the peak, but considering the past 3 years have been an utter poop show, I'm not overly confident of that.

I swear, if I get monkeypox, I will go bananas.

 

[R3V]

There's no indication that it's airborne like covid. We should be fine.

If you're worried, you could do what I do. I still wear N95 every time I go out, as I have done since Feb 2020. I still sanitize my hand after touching anything foreign. I bathe my phone in isopropyl alcohol when I get home and leave my clothes in a basket then take a shower. I've gotten used to it.

 

[Joey D]

There's no indication that it's airborne like covid. We should be fine.

If you're worried, you could do what I do. I still wear N95 every time I go out, as I have done since Feb 2020. I still sanitize my hand after touching anything foreign. I bathe my phone in isopropyl alcohol when I get home and leave my clothes in a basket then take a shower. I've gotten used to it.

Monkeypox isn't airborne in the same way COVID is, but it's transmitted via large respiratory droplets, such as a sneeze or a productive cough. The only upside is that you're not thought to be contagious until symptoms appear, which is different from COVID where you're infectious prior to being symptomatic.

I still take a ton of precautions in terms of infection control, but since I'm working outside the house more my job pretty much requires it since I'm around sick people. We never had any mandates in Utah, but I still wore a mask starting in the early days of the pandemic and still do so today. I use CaviWipes, which is what many of the clinics use to disinfect rooms. I figure if it's good enough for that then it's good enough for me. After 5 minutes microorganism that it comes into contact with is dead.

 

[Joey D]

The US has gone from 18 confirmed cases at the beginning of June to 72 confirmed cases today. There are roughly 1,600 cases worldwide.

CDC issues new guidance on monkeypox symptoms as U.S. cases balloon

Many recent monkeypox patients first developed rashes in the mouth or around the genitals or anus, which deviates from past cases.

www.nbcnews.com

And because whenever the US government gets involved in healthcare it becomes a complete disaster, there are already testing concerns.

Oh and because it has nothing better to do apparently, the WHO feels like it needs to urgently rename the virus. I'm not sure how the name is racist or promotes a stigma, but apparently, the WHO thinks it does. The virus was first identified in crab-eating macaques, which are monkeys. It's also found in Gambian pouched rats as well and monkeypox sounds way better than ratpox. I mean I get not wanting to stigmatize a group of people, but the name doesn't call out any particular race, culture, or country, it calls out an animal. If we call it Congolesepox or something like that it would be a different story and should almost certainly be renamed.

WHO Will Rename Monkeypox Virus to Minimize Stigma and Racism

More than 30 international scientists said the monkeypox label is discriminatory and stigmatizing.

time.com

According to various African health organizations, there's apparently a misconception that the virus is African and it's also asked that the media quit using photos of black people to show monkeypox. This is a tad concerning when it's what factually happens. Roughly 2,000 cases per year are reported in Western and Central Africa and people of Sub-Saharan Africa are almost universally dark-skinned. Going by statics alone, there are going to be far more photos of black Africans with monkeypox than anyone else.

Urgent need for a non-discriminatory and non-stigmatizing nomenclature for monkeypox virus

Urgent need for a non-discriminatory and non-stigmatizing nomenclature for monkeypox virus Authors: Christian Happi1,2*, Ifedayo Adetifa3, Placide Mbala4, Richard Njouom5, Emmanuel Nakoune6, Anise Happi1, Nnaemeka Ndodo3, Oyeronke Ayansola3, Gerald Mboowa7, Trevor Bedford8,9, Richard A...

virological.org

As for what they think it should be named? The idea of hMPXV has been floating around, which seems to not remove any of the assumed stigmas they say the original virus name has. Anyone is going to look at that name and see it's just an abbreviation of Human Monkeypox Virus. If they rename it, then so be it. But there are several pox-like viruses named after animals, so if they're going to reclassify one, then do them all. This is especially true for chickenpox, which has nothing to do with chickens nor is it even zoonotic.

Really though, I think the medical community probably has more pressing issues to address than the name of something.

 

[Joey D]

Well, this is comforting...

Monkeypox outbreak in U.S. is bigger than the CDC reports. Testing is 'abysmal'

The testing system set up by the CDC actually deters doctors from ordering a monkeypox test, and many physicians aren't familiar with the disease, resulting in too few tests and little tracking.

www.npr.org

It amazes me testing is this bad a month later. We know the disease is in the US, we know that it's spreading, and we even know the lineage of the virus so why aren't we doing anything about it? It's like nothing was learned from COVID and it actually makes me question the level of severity of other disease outbreaks. Just how many illnesses go untested or unreported?

 

[Keef]

A friend today told me she has monkeypox in Columbus OH. I don't have any other details yet.

 

[Joey D]

Dr. Jay Varma (a trustworthy, well-known physician) believes that monkeypox might become an STI due to how poorly it's being handled. Given Dr. Varma's takes on COVID, I'm inclined to believe that he's on the right track here.



Also, as quickly as the vaccine rollout in DC and NYC began, it's over because of course they didn't plan accordingly.

DC and NYC quickly max out on monkeypox vaccines

New York City and Washington, D.C., both ran through their supplies of vaccines to treat monkeypox less than a day after launching their local immunization initiatives. New York became the first ma…

thehill.com

 

[Joey D]

Monkeypox cases triple in Europe, WHO says, Africa concerned

LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization's Europe chief warned Friday that monkeypox cases in the region have tripled in the last two weeks and urged countries to do more to ensure the previously rare disease does not become entrenched on the continent.

apnews.com

 

[Joey D]

On June 29th, the number of cases was 351 in the US, on July 1st, it was 460. That's a decently rapid growth in a matter of a few days and these are just confirmed cases, like most diseases the actual number is likely higher. The UK is topping the number of confirmed cases at 1,235. The total number worldwide is 5,783 in 52 countries.

2022 Monkeypox Outbreak Global Map | Monkeypox | Poxvirus | CDC

Monkeypox is a viral disease that occurs mostly in central and western Africa. It is called monkeypox because it was first identified in laboratory monkeys. However, it is much more common among animals such as rats, mice, rabbits, and the African Squirrel

www.cdc.gov

Unfortunately, the vaccine supply is facing some strain though since Bavarian Nordic, the manufacturer of the only FDA-approved monkeypox vaccine called Jynneos, is currently running at reduced capacity at its manufacturing plant.

Monkeypox vaccine manufacturer plant is closed until late summer, straining supply

Bavarian Nordic is the nation's main supplier for the only FDA-approved monkeypox vaccine, Jynneos, but the company isn't running at full capacity, The New York Times reported July 1.

www.beckershospitalreview.com

 

[Joey D]

Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding is making a case for monkeypox to be labeled a pandemic and I think it's something certainly worth considering before things get any more out of hand. The last thing we need is some Coronapox (MokeyVID-19? Monkrona? MONCOV-19?) combo running around the country.

 

[Nielsen]

Ban me from this thread already, because sooner or later it’ll probably happen anyway.

 

[JKgo]

Ban me from this thread already, because sooner or later it’ll probably happen anyway.

Why? Have you done something worthy of a ban hammer? Or you think you'll do something soon?

 

[UKMikey]

Why? Have you done something worthy of a ban hammer? Or you think you'll do something soon?

Aw, man, please don't feed it...

 

[Joey D]

Two children diagnosed with monkeypox in U.S., officials say

NEW YORK (AP) — Two children have been diagnosed with monkeypox in the U.S., health officials said Friday. One is a toddler in California and the other an infant who is not a U.S. resident but was tested while in Washington, D.C., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

apnews.com

 

[Joey D]

Here we go again...

Monkeypox: WHO declares highest alert over outbreak

More than 16,000 cases have been reported from 75 countries, the organisation says.

www.bbc.com

 

[prousonhairy]

Monkeypox is being driven overwhelmingly by sex between men, major study finds

Of the 528 confirmed cases reviewed, 95% are believed to have transmitted during sex between men, according to a new paper in the New England Journal of Medicine.

www.nbcnews.com

NBC just did a study and of the 528 cases they reviewed, 95% were believed to be transmitted by sex between men. I know you can also get this disease by kissing and respiratory droplets at close range so it’s different then something like HIV, but if the high majority of cases are spreading through sexual contact, why isn’t it being classified as a STD?

 

[TexRex]

Monkeypox is being driven overwhelmingly by sex between men, major study finds

Of the 528 confirmed cases reviewed, 95% are believed to have transmitted during sex between men, according to a new paper in the New England Journal of Medicine.

www.nbcnews.com

NBC just did a study and of the 528 cases they reviewed, 95% were believed to be transmitted by sex between men. I know you can also get this disease by kissing and respiratory droplets at close range so it’s different then something like HIV, but if the high majority of cases are spreading through sexual contact, why isn’t it being classified as a STD?

I gather it isn't transmitted through semen or by sexual intercourse. The close physical contact commonly associated with sexual intercourse is the actual culprit.

So wear full-body condoms that leave only insertable members and the orifice(s) to be penetrated exposed, and you're probably good.

...

Mild language warning for the quoted tweet as it contains a single expletive that when used in the literal sense refers to feces.

Spoiler

Edit: Here's a screenshot with the offending word omitted.

 

[Liquid]

Here we go again...

Monkeypox: WHO declares highest alert over outbreak

More than 16,000 cases have been reported from 75 countries, the organisation says.

www.bbc.com

Have there been any indications that the case rates will slow or is this just going to get worse and too late before people realise?

 

[Joey D]

Have there been any indications that the case rates will slow or is this just going to get worse and too late before people realise?

Known cases are climbing at a decent rate, so I don't believe there's any reason to think there will be a slow down anytime soon. Chances are the WHO will say it's a problem then proceed to not do anything. Countries' health agencies will also problem not do anything either since I'm guessing they're skiddish due to COVID.

I don't think there needs to be a lock down or anything drastic, but a vaccine exists and a roll out plan needs to be figured out. Why this isn't being done at this moment is beyond me and, at least in the US, we're spinning out wheels like always.

But like COVID taught us there will be deniers of monkeypox that will spout their BS and claim it's all made up because they're stupid. Idiocy coupled with ineffective government agencies will turn monkeypox into a bigger issue than it needs to be.

 

[Joey D]

I'll take things that won't happen for $200 Alex...errr Ken?

$7B needed for US to contain monkeypox, White House advisers estimate

The U.S. may need nearly $7 billion to adequately address the monkeypox outbreak, Biden administration officials told Congress this month, The Washington Post reported July 26.

www.beckershospitalreview.com

 

[Scaff]

I'll take things that won't happen for $200 Alex...errr Ken?

$7B needed for US to contain monkeypox, White House advisers estimate

The U.S. may need nearly $7 billion to adequately address the monkeypox outbreak, Biden administration officials told Congress this month, The Washington Post reported July 26.

www.beckershospitalreview.com

I wonder what the first domestic cleaning product/animal medication will be the first idiots suggest as the 'cure'?

 

[Liquid]

I read somewhere that there are promising results that the smallpox vaccine is effective against monkeypox. That would surely cost less than $7 billion if successful enough to be made widespread?

 

[UKMikey]

I wonder what the first domestic cleaning product/animal medication will be the first idiots suggest as the 'cure'?

I've already seen this dumb t-shirt being sold to patriots on the internet.

 

[Joey D]

I wonder what the first domestic cleaning product/animal medication will be the first idiots suggest as the 'cure'?

It's 100% going to be bananas and people are going to rush to buy them by the caseload from grocery stores which will lead to a banana shortage in the US.

I also see people begging their doctors for various herpes medications that likely won't work for monkeypox.

I read somewhere that there are promising results that the smallpox vaccine is effective against monkeypox. That would surely cost less than $7 billion if successful enough to be made widespread?

Unfortunately, it's a bit muddy on what works and what doesn't. We know that the JYNNEOS smallpox vaccine is about 85% effective against monkeypox and that's in short supply. There's another smallpox vaccine, ACAM2000, which provides a high level of protection but I don't know that figure. The US, supposedly, has 100 million doses of the ACAM2000 vaccine in the national stockpile. We had close to 30 million of the JYNNEOS vaccine, but we've let 28 million of them expire.

I think what the US wants to do is to administer the JYNNEOS vaccine instead of the ACAM2000, but I'm not sure, and nor is anyone that I work with. It's highly likely that the US government will drop the ball on monkeypox much like it did with COVID. I'm hoping I'm wrong but with cases continuing to rise and the lack of testing, I can't see it going any other way at the moment.

 

[Joey D]

Monkeypox: First deaths outside Africa in Brazil and Spain

Brazil and Spain report fatalities from the virus, but most infections are mild and overall risk is low.

www.bbc.com

 

[NLxAROSA]

Twitter thread:



TL;DR: Person diagnosed with monkeypox is on metro. Not worried about infecting others because 'not gay, will not touch your balls'.

This is why you don't label anything as disease only for certain sexualities, or as an STD when it really isn't. People will assume it's not a problem because "it can't spread if I'm not gay or not having sex".


Link to original Twitter thread in Spanish

 

[Liquid]

Too dumb to live.
Too arrogant to protect others.

 

[Joey D]

Another confirmed death:

India confirms Asia's first monkeypox death

India confirmed its first monkeypox death on Monday, a young man in the southern state of Kerala, in what is only the fourth known fatality from the disease in the current outbreak.

www.reuters.com

Also, I'm glad the WHO is spending so much time on this instead of, you know, working to contain the outbreak. I do agree with the part of the article that says it could make research continuity an issue. If we rename a virus, the research that was done previously could become effectively lost in the future. If a researcher is hesitant about using the name monkeypox for their research, they could preface their paper with an explanation as to why monkeypox is named as such.

The campaign to rename monkeypox gets complicated

Renaming monkeypox — the virus and the disease — is proving more challenging than some expected.

www.statnews.com