Researchers Are Now Tracking Monkey pox in Wastewater.

 

Researchers Are Now Tracking Monkey pox in Wastewater.The past two years have taught us anything, it’s that testing for viral diseases is complicated. Sometimes, the tests are difficult to get, like in the early days of COVID-19. And even if people have access to testing, they might not feel they need it. 

 People with COVID-19 often don’t have symptoms and may not always know to get tested. And now, with the availability of at-home self-tests, most people test themselves and don’t report the results. With other diseases—such as monkey pox—stigma surrounding the disease and the group most affected can deter access to testing. These limitations hinder health authorities’ ability to learn more about infectious diseases and control their spread. If you can’t detect a problem, you can’t direct resources to help fix it. Wastewater analysis can help skirt some of these issues. 

Scientists have tracked COVID-19 through wastewater since early in the pandemic, and now they’re doing the same for monkey pox. A new program led by researchers at Stanford University, Emory University, and Verily, an Alphabet Inc. company, is monitoring monkey pox cases by analyzing sewage from 41 communities in 10 states.

 So far, they have detected the monkey pox virus in 22 of those sites. As monkey pox case numbers around the country continue to climb, such information is proving valuable as doctors and patients wrestle with testing challenges. “We have now detected monkey pox DNA in sewersheds before any cases were reported in those counties,” says Bradley White, senior staff scientist at Verily. The group is planning to publish their first findings from their monkey pox work in a preprint soon.

Monkeypox can persist in household environments, according to CDC study.

 

Monkey pox can persist in household environments, according to CDC study. The zoonotic monkey pox virus (MPXV), which is endemic to Africa, is typically transmitted through direct contact with an infected person or animal or through the inhalation of infected respiratory secretions. 

 Infection with MPXV often leads to the development of lesions with exudates that contain viable virions that can be shed during infection. As compared to other enveloped viruses, MPXV virions are more tightly bound with the fibrin matrices of the scab/crust, thereby allowing for them to persist within the environment for longer periods. 

 A recent study conducted by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases assessed the viability and viral load of MPXV on household objects and surfaces. Samples were collected from frequently used objects in the household of an individual who had been infected with MPXV. 

This sampling was conducted 15 days after the infected individual had left their home to be admitted to the hospital. These samples were then incubated to allow for virus isolation and the detection of viable viruses. Importantly, any potential contamination with bacteria or fungi was prevented by treating all incubated samples with penicillin/streptomycin, amphotericin B, and gentamicin.

Monkey Pox:CDC recommends masking despite evidence that its sexually transmitted.

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a study Friday suggesting that people wear masks to protect themselves from monkey pox despite growing evidence the virus is transmitted sexually. The CDC’s Friday Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), its internal journal, included research on the spread of monkey pox via contaminated surfaces. 

Researchers in Utah sampled 30 different samples from the home of two monkey pox patients, and found that 21 of the surfaces yielded positive real-time PCR results, but none tested positive for viral cultures. Still, despite the lack of live virus found in the samples, the paper still warns that monkey pox can spread through surface contact. The agency also recommends wearing masks at the bottom of the paper, even though little evidence has emerged that monkey pox is an airborne virus 

 “Monkey pox virus primarily spreads through close, personal, often skin-to-skin contact with the rash, scabs, lesions, body fluids, or respiratory secretions of a person with monkey pox; transmission via contaminated objects or surfaces (i.e., fomites) is also possible,” the paper reads. 

 “Persons living in or visiting the home of someone with monkey pox should follow appropriate precautions against indirect exposure and transmission by wearing a well-fitting mask, avoiding touching possibly contaminated surfaces, maintaining appropriate hand hygiene, avoiding sharing eating utensils, clothing, bedding, or towels, and following home disinfection recommendations.”

WHO declares rapidly spreading monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency

 

WHO declares rapidly spreading monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency. The WHO declared monkeypox a global health emergency. 

 The rare designation means the WHO now views the outbreak as a significant enough threat to global health that a coordinated international response is needed. The WHO last issued a global health emergency in January 2020 in response to the Covid-19 outbreak. Europe is the epicenter of the outbreak. Right now, men who have sex with men are the community at highest risk. 

The WHO chief said the global risk is moderate, but the threat is high in Europe. Monkeypox is unlikely to disrupt international trade or travel right now, the WHO chief said. 

 The World Health Organization has activated its highest alert level for the growing monkeypox outbreak, declaring the virus a public health emergency of international concern. The rare designation means the WHO now views the outbreak as a significant enough threat to global health that a coordinated international response is needed to prevent the virus from spreading further and potentially escalating into a pandemic.

Toolkit helps identify and respond to monkeypox exposures among health workers.

 

Toolkit helps identify and respond to monkey pox exposures among health workers.Massachusetts General Hospital developed a toolkit that can help identify and respond to potential monkey pox exposures among health care personnel, researchers reported in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. 

 The toolkit uses an enhanced version of REDCap, a web-based software platform that supports survey and data collection.

Large monkeypox study identifies new symptoms.