Health authorities in Canada, the US, Spain, Portugal, and the UK have issued alerts over possible outbreaks of monkeypox. This viral infection is usually spread by respiratory transmission, but in these latest cases certain characteristics point towards fluid contact as a possible mode of transmission. A majority of these monkeypox cases are among men who have sex with men.
Early symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes and chills. Other symptoms include rashes or lesions on any part of their body, but especially genitalia. This is a highly contagious disease that is associated with a case fatality rate of about 10 per cent. Please click here for a WHO factsheet on monkeypox.
The BC-CfE is not issuing a warning and emphasizes that the disease does not pose a significant risk to the general public at this point. However, as a precaution, people should be cognizant of any unusual lesions and monitor for rashes, especially on genitalia, and to contact their health care provider or a sexual health clinic immediately if these symptoms appear. We also suggest awareness of these symptoms in travelers returning from Nigeria and other areas of central, or west Africa such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo where this disease is endemic.
Monkeypox has two forms and is typically found in central and western Africa. The current belief is the UK cases involve the west African strain, which is milder than the more severe central African, or Congo, strain. The emergence and re-emergence of such viral pathogens highlights the need for enhanced global infectious disease monitoring architectures.
If you have travelled to any of the aforementioned places, and are exhibiting the symptoms described, please contact your local sexual health clinic.