Category: Monkeypox
Monkeypox treatment trial begins in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
NIH – A clinical trial to evaluate the antiviral drug tecovirimat, also known as TPOXX, in adults and children with monkeypox has begun in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The trial will evaluate the drug’s safety and its ability to mitigate monkeypox symptoms and prevent serious outcomes, including death. The National Institute of Allergy and […]
Oct 12, 2022
FDA Clears Use of Monkeypox Testing Equipment
FDA – FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to Abbott Molecular, Inc., for the Alinity m MPXV, a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test intended to detect monkeypox DNA using lesion swab specimens from individuals suspected of monkeypox virus infection. The Alinity m MPXV test is the first commercial test kit to be authorized for detection […]
Oct 10, 2022
Breakthrough Monkeypox Cases Seen Weeks After Second Jynneos Dose
MedPageToday – Most cases of monkeypox post-vaccination occurred within 2 weeks of the first Jynneos dose, a single-center study found, but some breakthrough cases developed weeks after a second dose of the vaccine. Of 90 individuals who tested positive for monkeypox after a single dose of Jynneos at a large monkeypox testing and vaccination site, […]
Oct 6, 2022
The monkeypox virus is mutating. Are scientists worried?
Nature – In some samples, large chunks of the virus’s genome have disappeared — but understanding whether the mutations affect its behaviour will be difficult. As researchers at the Minnesota Department of Health in St. Paul were sequencing samples of the monkeypox virus a few months ago, they made a surprising discovery. In one sample […]
Oct 5, 2022
CDC warns of severe illnesses from monkeypox as Ohio reports death of a monkeypox patient
CNN – The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new warning to health care providers Thursday about severe illnesses in people with monkeypox. The alert comes as Ohio reported that an individual with monkeypox has died – the third known death of a patient with monkeypox in the United States. Ohio listed […]
Sep 30, 2022
Viral loads in clinical samples of men with monkeypox virus infection: a French case series
The Lancet – Monkeypox virus (MPXV) is currently spreading among men who have sex with men, outside of sub-Saharan Africa, and close contact during sex seems to be one of the key pathways of viral transmission in the current outbreak. Our aim was to describe the distribution of MPXV in the human body, as it […]
Sep 30, 2022
Studies detail monkeypox transmission risks
CIDRAP – A study of almost 400 samples taken from men with monkeypox reveals a high prevalence of the virus on skin, throat, and anus swabs compared to in blood or urine—with detections in semen in the midrange—and high viral loads in skin and anal swabs. Two other new studies detail transmission risk in a […]
Sep 30, 2022
Should I still be worried about monkeypox?
Washington Post – New monkeypox cases are declining in the United States, a trend public health officials and clinicians attribute to vaccination and changes in behavior. Eligible individuals who did not receive the monkeypox vaccine were about 14 times more likely to become infected than those who received a first dose of the two-dose vaccine, […]
Sep 29, 2022
Zoonotic diseases like COVID-19 and monkeypox will become more common, experts say
NPR – Cases of monkeypox are on the rise in the U.S., with about 67,600 global cases, including about 25,500 in the U.S. Simultaneously, the world is still facing a COVID-19 pandemic, despite the number of cases tapering off. Researchers say these types of viruses, known as zoonotic diseases, or ones that spread between humans and animals, will […]
Sep 29, 2022
Monkeypox Spread Is Slowing in the US. Now, the Focus Is on Prevention
Bloomberg – US monkeypox cases are declining nationally, driven by a growing vaccine supply and community-based outreach, marking a hopeful sign for an outbreak that’s afflicted more than 25,000 Americans. Since the outbreak peaked in August, daily case rates have been dropping, data show, with just 66 new infections reported on Sept. 21. In cities where monkeypox cases exploded […]
Sep 29, 2022