Smallpox of monkeys, the study on transmission – breaking latest news

Modena, 24 July 2022 – Cristina Mussini, director of Infectious Diseases at the Polyclinic and Unimore professor, is among the signatories of an article, published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine in July, which studied the spread of Monkeypox in humans in 16 countries. Read also: Monkeypox: the latest report Iss The article is the result of the work of an international group of clinicians who have collected a large number of case studies to describe the presentation, clinical course and outcomes of smallpox virus infections of monkeys confirmed by the polymerase chain reaction. “Before April 2022 – explained Cristina Mussini – the infection with monkeypox virus in humans was rarely reported outside the African regions where it is endemic. Currently, cases are occurring all over the world. transmission, risk factors, clinical presentation and outcomes of infection are poorly defined. The aim of our work is to fill this gap in our knowledge. ” The study analyzed 528 infections diagnosed between April 27 and June 24, 2022, in 43 areas in 16 countries. Overall, 98% of infected people were homosexual or bisexual men; 75% were white and 41% had human immunodeficiency virus infection; the mean age was 38 years. “One of our first suspicions – adds Mussini – was that the transmission took place by sexual means. Indeed, we found sexually transmitted infections concomitant with monkeypox in 109 of the 377 people (29%) who were tested. Among the 23 people with a clear history of exposure, the median incubation period was 7 days (range, 3 to 20). This data is not yet decisive to assert with certainty that sexual transmission is the only form of transmission, too. .