Monkeypox

South Africa has identified its first case of monkeypox since a global outbreak began, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said.

South Africa's Health Minister Joe Phaahla said on Thursday that he had been notified by the country's laboratory services that they had confirmed the first ...

If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences. Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you are a California consumer, you have the right, at any time, to direct a business that sells your personal information to third parties to not sell your personal information. When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information.

In a statement released on Thursday, the NICD said the patient was a 30-year-old male from Gauteng with no recent travel history.

The risk to the general population is considered low, given the low transmissibility of the virus,” the NICD said. A case ofNICD (@nicd_sa) #monkeypoxhas been identified in South Africa. The case involves a 30-year-old male residing in the Gauteng province. The cases to date mostly involve individuals that self-identify as men having sex with men.

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, confirms that a case of monkeypox has been ...

Isolation of confirmed cases allows for the prevention of transmission and interruption of the cycle of transmission. The risk to the general population is considered low, given the low transmissibility of the virus. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, confirms that a case of monkeypox has been identified in South Africa through laboratory testing at the NICD on Wednesday, June 22, 2022.

The national Department of Health has confirmed the first case of monkeypox in South Africa, in a 30-year-old man from Johannesburg.

Thus far it has been dominant in men who have sex with men, but the main feature is that transmission is through close contact,” Phaahla said. The current outbreak is dominated by high numbers in Europe – the UK, Spain, Germany, Portugal and France. Cases have also been reported in the USA and Canada. The disease only spread through close droplets so you cannot get by being in the same room with an infected person.

At the beginning of June, before monkeypox reached South Africa, lobby group OUT LGBT Well-being shared concerns that the disease was being used to ...

The WHO recommends increasing vigilance for cases with contact tracing and monitoring of laboratory-confirmed cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a statement at the time and said: “It is important to note that the risk of monkeypox is not limited to men who have sex with men. Prevention of infection hinges on the isolation of cases until fully recovered. It does not spread similarly to flu or the Sars-CoV-2 virus. Monkeypox rashes can resemble sexually transmitted diseases such as herpes and syphilis. Monkeypox is a rare viral infection in humans.

Monkeypox is a viral disease that causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions. It is endemic in parts of Africa, but not South Africa. The World Health ...

“When a disease affects developing countries, it is (apparently) not an emergency. Monkeypox is a viral disease that causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions. But it has still raised alarm.

The patient is a 30-year-old male from Johannesburg with no travel history, contact tracing is under way, the health minister says.

“The cases to date mostly involve individuals that self-identify as men having sex with men. Recent large social events are thought to have served as super spreader events,” it said. The patient is a 30-year-old male from Johannesburg with no travel history, contact tracing is under way, the health minister says

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Thursday confirmed the case of monkeypox was identified through laboratory testing on Wednesday. The ...

“The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends increasing vigilance for cases with contact tracing and monitoring of laboratory-confirmed cases. Isolation of confirmed cases allows for the prevention of transmission and interruption of the cycle of transmission. “This is the first multi-country outbreak of monkeypox and is already the largest outbreak of monkeypox recorded,” said NICD spokesperson Sinenhlanhla Jimoh.

As the lone laboratory manufacturing a licensed vaccine against monkeypox, Danish company Bavarian Nordic has seen its order book fill up as the usually ...

"But I can say we have procurement requests from all over the world. "With the current demand we can easily supply the global market. The United States has so far recommended the vaccination of people who have been in close contact with an infected person, while France has recommended a single dose for contact cases in risk groups who were vaccinated for smallpox before 1980. The value of the contracts hasn't been disclosed either, but for Bavarian Nordic it has clearly been a windfall: it raised its 2022 full-year outlook four times in three weeks. According to Sorensen, the vaccine is in stock "in many countries" and can also be used against monkeypox, both before and after exposure to the virus. We have a couple of million doses in bulk that we can put into vials and make sure that the current outbreak is handled," he told AFP in an interview.

Monkeypox: What we know about the virus as the WHO considers if the outbreak is an 'emergency'. Euronews. The monkeypox outbreak that started in Europe at ...

I am confident that monkeypox can be defeated in the same way.” “When a disease affects developing countries, it is (apparently) not an emergency. The virus can be spread through close contact among people, and it need not be contact of a sexual nature. “The current strain of the disease is not considered fatal and sufferers begin to experience symptoms within seven to 14 days of exposure. “In Africa, most monkeypox cases have been documented among children under 15 years old. Monkeypox is a viral disease that causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions.

JOHANNESBURG - Health Minister Joe Phaahla has just confirmed that a case of monkeypox has been detected in the country. Monkeypox is a virus transmitted to ...

"The patient is a 30-year-old male from Johannesburg who has no travel history, meaning that this cannot be attributed to having been acquired outside South Africa. Working with the relevant health authorities, a process of contact tracing has begun." "I received a report from the National Health Laboratory Services CEO that they have confirmed through laboratory tests the first case of monkeypox in South Africa," Phaahla said. JOHANNESBURG - Health Minister Joe Phaahla has just confirmed that a case of monkeypox has been detected in the country.

The first case of the rare disease has been identified in SA. Monkeypox is very different from Covid-19 and not highly transmissible.

“This is the first time that many monkeypox cases and clusters have been reported concurrently in non-endemic and endemic countries in widely disparate geographical areas. “WHO is collaborating with health authorities to prevent further spread of the disease. He is presently recovering at home,” Puren said. “The case is a 30-year-old male who is resident in the Gauteng province and reports no recent travel history. We are issuing guidance to help countries on surveillance, laboratory work, clinical care, infection prevention and control, as well as risk communication and community engagement to inform communities at risk and the broader general public about monkeypox and how to keep safe. The first case of the rare disease has been identified in SA. There is currently a large outbreak of the disease, globally that has been flagged by the World Health Organization. Monkeypox is, however, very different from Covid-19 and not highly transmissible.

According to a statement released by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the national health laboratory service has confirmed ...

It does not spread similarly to influenza or Covid- 19,” read the statement. NICD added that Monkeypox is a rare viral infection in humans that has been reported in more than 3000 individuals in several European countries. The first case of Monkeypox has been recorded in Gauteng, South Africa.

The viral disease, whichcauses flu-like symptoms and skin lesions, is endemic in parts of the continent but has only caused global concern in recent months.

“When a disease affects developing countries, it is not an emergency. It only becomes an emergency when developed countries are affected,” said Professor Emmanuel Nakoune, acting director of the Institut Pasteur in Bangui, the Central African Republic, who is running a trial of a monkeypox treatment. Still, it has raised alarm.

The Director-General of WHO is convening an Emergency Committee under Article 48 of the International Health Regulations in relation to the current outbreak ...

The World Health Organization will decide on Thursday whether to declare monkeypox a global health emergency, stirring criticism from leading African ...

The step mainly functions to sound the alarm, and can prompt further guidance from the WHO, as well as focus attention among member states. "When a disease affects developing countries, it is (apparently) not an emergency. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com But it has still raised alarm. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

NICD says it is providing details about spread of the disease to give context to the outbreak across 42 countries.

Only one person is known to have died from monkeypox in the current global outbreak, said Puren. What we are seeing now is new,” said Jacqueline Weyer, a scientist at the NICD’s centre for emerging and zoonotic diseases. Recent large social events are thought to have served as superspreader events,” said the NICD. “The cases to date mostly involve individuals that self-identify as men having sex with men. Monkeypox is endemic to several countries in Central and West Africa and was discovered among research monkeys in 1958. This development has caused global alarm and prompted heightened surveillance for the disease.

The expert committee will weigh whether monkeypox constitutes a public health emergency of international concern, the World Health Organization's highest ...

Experts have also called out the problematic rhetoric from many commentators and media outlets linking the virus to Africa and the WHO is pushing for the virus to “minimize the negative impact.” The organization also no longer makes the distinction between cases in endemic countries where the virus typically circulates and other countries outside these regions. That the virus has caused disease in parts of Africa for decades but only garnered significant global attention—or talk of an emergency—following outbreaks in wealthier nations in Europe and North America has sparked criticism from African scientists and officials, who fear a repeat of the stark inequalities in accessing vital supplies during the Covid-19 pandemic. With some notable exceptions, most known cases of monkeypox outside of Africa prior to the current outbreak have been linked to travel in the region, and the discovery of the virus spreading in Europe and North America in May alarmed scientists and public health officials. Years after declaring the spread of a novel coronavirus a PHEIC, the WHO lamented the fact that the world only seemed to sit up and pay attention when Tedros described the situation as a “pandemic” in March 2020. What will happen if the monkeypox outbreak is declared a PHEIC. Under international law, nations are expected to take steps to address a PHEIC, though they are not compelled to act. A monkeypox PHEIC would mark a “test” for the WHO’s authority after Covid, said Wenham. “If they do declare a PHEIC, it will be interesting to see if countries pay attention,” she added.

The National Health Laboratory Service has confirmed that South Africa has its first case of monkeypox.

The institute said the department of health reported 57 deaths and of these, six occurred in the past 24 hours. “On May 5, we published a limited set of regulations to provide a framework for mitigating against a spike in Covid-19 infections driven by subvariant BA.4 and BA.5 of the Omicron variant. “The disease has previously been reported in African countries, including Nigeria, Congo and Ghana in the early 2000s.

The World Health Organization convenes its emergency committee Thursday to consider if the spiraling outbreak of monkeypox warrants being declared a global ...

“There may be legitimate reasons why WHO only raised the alarm when monkeypox spread to rich countries, but to poor countries, that looks like a double standard,” Fidler said. “It is a bit curious that WHO only called their experts when the disease showed up in white countries,” he said. But few countries took notice until March, when the organization described it as a pandemic, weeks after many other authorities did so. It would also give monkeypox the same distinction as the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing effort to eradicate polio. Monkeypox has sickened people for decades in central and west Africa, where one version of the disease kills up to 10 percent of people infected. LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization convenes its emergency committee Thursday to consider if the spiraling outbreak of monkeypox warrants being declared a global emergency.

LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) – The World Health Organization will decide on Thursday whether to declare monkeypox a global health emergency, stirring criticism ...

The step mainly functions to sound the alarm, and can prompt further guidance from the WHO, as well as focus attention among member states. “When a disease affects developing countries, it is (apparently) not an emergency. The WHO has already provided detailed guidance on the outbreak and said it is working on a mechanism for sharing treatments and vaccines. Still, Nakoune said that if the WHO declares an emergency in the case of monkeypox, it would still be an important step. But it has still raised alarm. It only becomes an emergency when developed countries are affected,” said Professor Emmanuel Nakoune, acting director of the Institut Pasteur in Bangui, Central African Republic, who is running a trial of a monkeypox treatment.

He urged South Africans not to panic, noting that monkeypox was not an airborne disease like Covid-19. “It's not a very severe illness but also because it is ...

The cases to date mostly involve individuals that self-identify as men having sex with men. The risk to the general population is considered low, given the low transmissibility of the virus,” the NICD added. This is the first multi-country outbreak of monkeypox and is already the largest outbreak of monkeypox recorded.

The declaration means the U.N. health agency considers the outbreak is at risk of spreading to more countries. But many scientists doubt any declaration ...

Salim Abdool Karim is a disease expert with the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. He said the WHO and others should be doing more to stop monkeypox from spreading around the world. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed more than 3,300 cases of monkeypox in 42 countries where the virus has not been typically seen. In January 2020, the WHO declared that COVID-19 was an international emergency. The health agency is considering whether to declare the outbreak a global health emergency. Until last month, monkeypox had not caused large outbreaks beyond Africa. And scientists have not found any major genetic changes in the virus. Oyewale Tomori is a Nigerian virologist who advises several WHO groups.

Addressing the first meeting of the World Health Organization's Emergency Committee on Thursday over the global Monkeypox outbreak, the WHO chief told ...

WHO also needs clear case definitions to help identify and report infections. “Few of these cases are confirmed, and little is known about their circumstances. He outlined several asks of Member States, going forward, primarily for all information to be shared. And the WHO chief said all countries had “to remain vigilant and strengthen their capacities to prevent onward transmission of Monkeypox. It is likely that many countries will have missed opportunities to identify cases, including cases in the community without any recent travel.” “Person-to-person transmission is ongoing and is likely underestimated. In Nigeria, the proportion of women affected is much higher than elsewhere, and it is critical to better understand how the disease is spreading there”, said the WHO chief.

African researchers have been warning about monkeypox outbreaks for years. As vaccines are deployed globally, they worry they will be left behind.

In recent weeks, the WHO has recognized the inequity in the global attention that monkeypox is receiving. At the same time, researchers have been warning that cases of monkeypox in sub-Saharan Africa have been rising for years. Smallpox was eradicated in 1980 and vaccination was halted, meaning that the percentage of the population vulnerable to it — and thus to monkeypox — has been growing (see ‘Monkeypox cases rising in Africa’). Acknowledging that many cases have so far occurred in men who have sex with men (MSM), authorities in several Canadian cities and in the United Kingdom have gone one step further and begun offering the vaccines to their MSM communities. Some health officials in sub-Saharan Africa worry that they will continue to be left behind, judging by their experience of vaccine inequity during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Without addressing the fundamental issues, you’ll end up using all your vaccines toward monkeypox,” he says, instead of dealing with the source of the problem — contact between wildlife and humans. Other researchers Nature spoke with also said the shots could help to curb monkeypox in Africa if they were given to people with compromised immune systems and those who frequently encounter wildlife. They point out that they have long been warning of the potential for the monkeypox virus, which has been behaving in new ways, to spread more widely. Meanwhile, some African nations have been dealing with monkeypox outbreaks ever since scientists identified the first human case in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 1970. With the virus now proliferating in Western cities through what seems to be close contact with sexual partners, “the world is paying the price for not having responded adequately” in 2017, she says. In Central Africa, the strain of monkeypox virus that has infected people is more virulent, with a mortality rate of about 10%. The largest of these outbreaks was a short-lived one in the United States in 2003, which stemmed from imported animals and made more than 70 people ill.

Researchers say the U.S. monkeypox outbreak is much larger than the CDC is reporting. Symptomatic people are being denied testing, so it's unclear how many ...

You may click on “Your Choices” below to learn about and use cookie management tools to limit use of cookies when you visit NPR’s sites. If you click “Agree and Continue” below, you acknowledge that your cookie choices in those tools will be respected and that you otherwise agree to the use of cookies on NPR’s sites. NPR’s sites use cookies, similar tracking and storage technologies, and information about the device you use to access our sites (together, “cookies”) to enhance your viewing, listening and user experience, personalize content, personalize messages from NPR’s sponsors, provide social media features, and analyze NPR’s traffic.

A World Health Organization declaration could escalate the international response as monkeypox cases rapidly rise in Britain despite efforts to contain it.

Singapore confirmed a case of monkeypox in a British man on Tuesday, the first in Southeast Asia. South Korea on Wednesday also confirmed its first case of monkeypox. The WHO’s Tedros said Thursday that nearly 1,500 suspected cases of monkeypox, and some 70 deaths, have been reported in central Africa this year. The first case of monkeypox in the United States was detected on May 17. British health officials said Tuesday that some gay and bisexual men, who are considered to be at higher risk of exposure, will be offered vaccines to help curb the monkeypox outbreak. “This is a disease which has been neglected,” Heymann said. The United Kingdom has proactively tracked people with known cases of monkeypox and in some cases, distributed smallpox vaccines, which are known to protect against monkeypox infection, to their close contacts and at-risk groups. Wendtner and his colleagues have been closely recording their discoveries amid this outbreak, documenting recently their discovery of monkeypox virus DNA in both semen and blood. LONDON — The World Health Organization is weighing whether to declare monkeypox an international emergency — a decision that could come as early as Friday. A declaration could escalate the global response as cases rapidly rise in Britain despite efforts to contain it. Most patients were discharged after a day or so and advised to isolate for 21 days at home — in line with Germany’s infectious-disease law. WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus acknowledged at the start of Thursday’s meeting that monkeypox is likely more widespread than official numbers indicate. So far, the response in most European countries has been to focus on outreach to at-risk communities, contact tracing and isolation for known monkeypox cases. The novel coronavirus, which causes covid-19, was labeled a PHEIC following a similar meeting in January 2020.

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases confirmed that contact tracing is being carried out for the first case of monkeypox identified in South ...

In other words, if there’s contact during the, for example, sexual act,” said Puren. It is also possible for the disease to be transmitted through linen or clothes. So, there’s no selection in terms of the group that’s being affected,” she said. “So, depending on when the person was infected, there is a three-week period through which they can be monitored to see if there’s any signs or symptoms of monkeypox developing. Some of these were not developed specifically for the disease, but rather for smallpox. The two diseases are closely related, though smallpox was eradicated through mass vaccination around 1980. Contact tracing based on the first case of monkeypox to be identified in South Africa is currently under way. They remain contagious until the rash caused by the disease heals completely. The rash can last for between two and four weeks. “Unfortunately, because there’s no travel history for this particular case, it means that the disease was acquired locally. Cases typically resolve themselves without any specific interventions and hospitalisation is rarely required. Large-scale vaccination is not currently viewed as necessary. “The idea is to identify cases that could be at risk of contracting the infection, and working to inform these individuals of the risks, and then working with them through what would be the incubation period of the infection,” explained Weyer.

Health Minister Joe Phaahla revealed that a man, aged 30, in Johannesburg had been confirmed positive for monkeypox. Monkeypox belongs to the Poxviridae ...

Health Minister Joe Phaahla revealed that a man, aged 30, in Johannesburg had been confirmed positive for monkeypox. Health Minister Joe Phaahla revealed that a man, aged 30, in Johannesburg had been confirmed positive for monkeypox. The health minister has indicated that a tracking process had already begun following the identification of the man with the virus in the country.

As the South African health system deals with its first-ever monkeypox case this week, experts believe there are more cases out in society.

Thank you for agreeing to be part of this committee to assess whether the multi-country monkeypox outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of ...

It is likely that many countries will have missed opportunities to identify cases, including cases in the community without any recent travel. In Nigeria, the proportion of women affected is much higher than elsewhere, and it is critical to better understand how the disease is spreading there. That is what WHO is doing. Few of these cases are confirmed, and little is known about their circumstances. One of the most important lessons is that one of the most effective ways of responding to outbreaks in affected communities is to work closely with those communities to co-create effective risk communications. The outbreak in newly affected countries continues to be primarily among men who have sex with men, and who have reported recent sex with new or multiple partners.

The NICD has indicated that the symptoms of monkeypox are similar to the COVID-19 symptoms, which are flu-like and a disruptive blister-like rash on the ...

And we see that the risk has come down and therefore it is appropriate to relax our control," said Professor Cohen. The NICD has indicated that the symptoms of monkeypox are similar to the COVID-19 symptoms, which are flu-like and a disruptive blister-like rash on the skin. The NICD has indicated that the symptoms of monkeypox are similar to the COVID-19 symptoms, which are flu-like and a disruptive blister-like rash on the skin.

About the author: Monica Gandhi is a professor of medicine and associate division chief of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine at UCSF / San ...

The WHO is scheduled to meet today to decide whether to declare monkeypox a global health emergency—a move that clinicians from Africa argue is long overdue. Although the virus is not a significant threat to the general population, as COVID-19 was, declaring a global health emergency will raise awareness of both this outbreak and endemic infections. Although monkeypox has been reported in semen, the most likely route of spread during the current outbreak is the close skin-to-skin and respiratory contact during sexual activity. Harm reduction is the basis of most current public-health messaging about reducing HIV risk, and is profoundly important in the field of addiction and substance use. A swift, targeted vaccination campaign—one that identifies Americans at risk and persuades them to get a shot—is far more likely to stop the monkeypox outbreak. Many of the current cases are in MSM ages 30 to 55, at first linked to two large raves held in Spain and Belgium. Of note, sexual transmission of monkeypox has never previously been described. The U.S. is underreacting to the monkeypox outbreak. However, the infection until recently was usually spread by rodents such as rats, mice, and squirrels, and transmitted to humans by a bite from an infected animal, or by touching an infected animal’s blood, body fluids, or fur. The New York City Health Department announced the opening yesterday of a clinic in Chelsea that will offer the vaccine to MSM who have had multiple partners in the past 14 days. Smallpox, among the most deadly pathogens in history, could be eliminated because of four distinguishing features that most human pathogens do not have: Its symptoms—most notably, the skin rash it causes—are very characteristic, so doctors could easily identify patients who had it; its infectious period was short; new infections were preventable by a highly effective vaccine; and the virus had no animal reservoirs from which it could infect unvaccinated humans. It needs to purchase many more—and should offer the vaccine to all MSM at risk of exposure in the next month. A highly effective smallpox vaccine, called Jynneos, has been licensed in the United States for use against monkeypox as well.

If it's not one thing, it's another. Just as South Africans were starting to relax as Covid-19 infections started slowing down, the health ministry dropped ...

The risk to the general population is considered low, given the relatively low transmission rates of the virus. The disease is rarely fatal and cases typically resolve within two to four weeks. Now it's here.

Clinicians should report suspected cases immediately to local and national public health authorities. Probable and confirmed cases of monkeypox should be ...

As soon as a suspected case is identified, contact identification and forward contact tracing should be initiated. The overall goal of surveillance, case investigation and contact tracing in this context is to stop human-to-human transmission to control the outbreak. The confirmed case definition has been updated to include polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive cases, regardless of associated symptoms or their absence, in order to more fully characterize pre-symptomatic, pauci-symptomatic or asymptomatic infections.