Monkeypox

Monkeypox is a viral infection that manifests a week or two after exposure with fever and other non-specific symptoms, and then produces a rash with lesions that usually last for 2-4 weeks before drying up, crusting and falling off [15] While monkeypox can cause large numbers of lesions, in the current outbreak, some patients experience only a single lesion in the mouth or on the genitals, making it more difficult to differentiate from other infections.[26] In infections before the current outbreak, 1-3 percent of people with known infections have died (without treatment). Cases in children and immunocompromised people are more likely to be severe.[6]

Monkeypox spreads through close, personal, often skin-to-skin contact. The disease can spread through direct contact with rashes, or body fluids from an infected person, by touching objects and fabrics that have been used by someone with monkeypox or through respiratory secretions.1271 Given the unexpected and vast geographical spread of the disease, the actual number of cases is likely to be underestimated [28] While anyone can get monkeypox, to date the vast majority of confirmed cases outside of the endemic regions in Africa occurred in young or middle aged men who have sex with men (MSM) who had recent sexual contact with new or multiple partners. [29][30] On 28 July, the WHO Director General advised MSM to limit exposure by reducing the number of sexual partners, reconsidering sex with new partners, and maintaining contact details to allow for epidemiological follow-up.[31] The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has

emphasized the importance of reducing stigma in communicating about the demographic aspects of monkeypox, specifically with regards to gay and bisexual men.[32]