monkeypox

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has authorised the administration of monkeypox vaccine intradermally rather than subcutaneously. This will allow more people to be vaccinated in the absence of doses, but effectiveness and safety data are limited. The Public Health Commission has decided to follow this strategy except for pregnant women and immunocompromised persons. 

A study published today in The Lancet examines the clinical manifestations of monkeypox in 181 patients at three sexual health clinics in Madrid and Barcelona.

A recently published study analyses 185 cases of monkeypox reported in Spain up to 11 July and profiles the cases detected in Spain, as well as the most common dermatological symptoms.

A study published today analyses 185 cases of monkeypox reported in Spain up to 11 July.

With the increase in monkeypox cases worldwide, the World Health Organisation has declared the outbreak an international public health emergency. There is now a recommended vaccine for its prevention or mitigation. Here is what we know about it and what the current recommendations are.

Today the World Health Organisation declared smallpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The move was announced at a press conference by its director general, Tedros Adhanom, despite a lack of consensus in the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee.

The first study of UK cases of the current monkeypox outbreak finds differences between the symptoms of these patients and those of previous outbreaks in other parts of the world. The work is published in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Communicating outbreaks of infectious diseases is not easy, especially when they affect population groups that may face discrimination. Cases of monkeypox among men who have sex with men remind us of the importance of reporting without stigma.

A genomic analysis of monkeypox viruses from patients in the ongoing outbreak reveals that it most likely has a single origin. This 2022 monkeypox virus diverges from those of 2018-2019 in many more genetic variations than expected for Orthopoxviruses, which may represent ongoing accelerated evolution, according to the authors. The study is published in Nature Medicine.

A study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases analyses the response of seven monkeypox patients diagnosed in the UK between 2018-2021, treated with the antivirals brincidofovir and tecovirimat.