There is substantial concern about monkeypox (MPV) exposure and risk among the general public. Some of this is warranted; some is not. Misconceptions are taking hold given the rapidly evolving situation and scientific uncertainty. This post triangulates historical context, lab data, and epidemiological data to show you what we do (and do not) know about MPV transmission right now.
Makes sense that college campuses might be an outbreak risk, but is there a true sense of K12? Cause I've heard the complete range of theories with little data other than demographic to back it up (and pediatric cases certainly don't help).
Thank you. For the most part this is very reassuring that the risk level for the bulk of the population is quite low given reasonable precautions. An excellent summary.
I’ve been getting a trickle of questions in the office from patients, not a flood yet. Everyone is so fatigued, and the idea of another virus causing mayhem is kind of too much. I get it.
I did a post about the heroic, unseen public health effort right now, the nuances of vaccination and treatment of higher risk individuals and severe syndromes - and how learning about pandemics from caustic, biased pundits like Ben Shapiro is not advisable.
Thanks for this evidence based review. I’m seeing monkeypox ghosts in shingles and herpetic outbreaks this week… this is going to be quite difficult 😞
You said, "MPV could spread to other social networks." Hasn't it already spread to people who are not men who have sex with men? While MSM are the group most at risk *right now* and being laser focused on public health outreach is warranted, there are already faulty assumptions and misinformation because of that laser focus. People who are not MSM are being gaslit by medical personnel about their MPV symptoms. While these are anecdotal instances reported via social media there is the valid concern we didn't learn from the 80's AIDS epidemic.
Some info I have read says only UVC and that soap may wash it away but will not break it down. Any additional information on this? It is coming out of other countries. I am using hand sanitizer in addition to washing my hands as I am immunocompromised. I too want to know if my smallpox vaccination re 1950s will afford any protection.
I like that they're starting to use wastewater surveillance for more pathogens besides Covid. I imagine the more pathogens we monitor, the better we'll be able to guage what "normal" levels are for endemic diseases versus novel ones in a given area.
Would also love for epidemiologists, actuaries, and policy wonks to put their heads together and design parametric insurance using wastewater surveillance - like we currently do for heating/cooling degree days, crop yields, etc
This looks like some encouraging data: The amount of monkeypox in sewage at two spots in San Francisco has been relatively stable for about 3 weeks. None of the different sewagesheds being monitored are showing exponential growth for monkeypox.
QUOTE Contact tracing data confirms this, thus far, by showing clear patterns of transmission among very close and prolonged contacts, like sexual encounters. UNQUOTE
The media is reporting between 96%-98% is gay sex.
What are the other patterns outside of sexual encounters?
Do you have any thoughts on monkeypox in the context of contra dancing?
- On a typical evening there will generally be skin to skin contact with multiple people. More with whoever you're partnered with for a given piece. But also whoever you swing with (ballroom position, and we are often wearing short sleeves for personal comfort)
- The contra dance community is generally welcoming of all sorts of people. It's not hard to imagine monkeypox getting to at least one unwitting contra dancer
- people travel long distances to go to a contra dance. They frequently carpool on long trips to big festivals.
We are currently going all-in with Covid safety protocols (N95 masks, vaxes and boosters if eligible). Long sleeves would be a rather impractical in hot weather.
My question is whether with the current state of play (Covid still rampant, monkeypox emerging, and exteeme heat events) - is this activity irreducibly hazardous right now?
Monkeypox virus contamination in an office-based workplace environment, England 2022
Abstract
In May 2022, an office worker attended their place of work while experiencing prodromal symptoms of monkeypox infection. Environmental sampling performed four days later identified only low levels of monkeypox virus DNA contamination of the worker’s desk, and no contamination elsewhere within the office. Replication-competent virus was not identified.
how good is the original small pox vaccine which i received in the late 1940s, at fighting small pox as well as monkey pox?
The vacuum of information about kids, especially in daycare is what is now propelling a new version of the santanic panic.
Regarding fomite transmission....how concerned should we be staying at a hotel or renting an airbnb?
Makes sense that college campuses might be an outbreak risk, but is there a true sense of K12? Cause I've heard the complete range of theories with little data other than demographic to back it up (and pediatric cases certainly don't help).
Thank you. For the most part this is very reassuring that the risk level for the bulk of the population is quite low given reasonable precautions. An excellent summary.
I’ve been getting a trickle of questions in the office from patients, not a flood yet. Everyone is so fatigued, and the idea of another virus causing mayhem is kind of too much. I get it.
I did a post about the heroic, unseen public health effort right now, the nuances of vaccination and treatment of higher risk individuals and severe syndromes - and how learning about pandemics from caustic, biased pundits like Ben Shapiro is not advisable.
Thanks for this evidence based review. I’m seeing monkeypox ghosts in shingles and herpetic outbreaks this week… this is going to be quite difficult 😞
You said, "MPV could spread to other social networks." Hasn't it already spread to people who are not men who have sex with men? While MSM are the group most at risk *right now* and being laser focused on public health outreach is warranted, there are already faulty assumptions and misinformation because of that laser focus. People who are not MSM are being gaslit by medical personnel about their MPV symptoms. While these are anecdotal instances reported via social media there is the valid concern we didn't learn from the 80's AIDS epidemic.
Some info I have read says only UVC and that soap may wash it away but will not break it down. Any additional information on this? It is coming out of other countries. I am using hand sanitizer in addition to washing my hands as I am immunocompromised. I too want to know if my smallpox vaccination re 1950s will afford any protection.
I like that they're starting to use wastewater surveillance for more pathogens besides Covid. I imagine the more pathogens we monitor, the better we'll be able to guage what "normal" levels are for endemic diseases versus novel ones in a given area.
Would also love for epidemiologists, actuaries, and policy wonks to put their heads together and design parametric insurance using wastewater surveillance - like we currently do for heating/cooling degree days, crop yields, etc
This looks like some encouraging data: The amount of monkeypox in sewage at two spots in San Francisco has been relatively stable for about 3 weeks. None of the different sewagesheds being monitored are showing exponential growth for monkeypox.
https://soe-wbe-pilot.wl.r.appspot.com/charts#page=overview_mpxv
YLE - you have gone Politically correct here -
QUOTE Contact tracing data confirms this, thus far, by showing clear patterns of transmission among very close and prolonged contacts, like sexual encounters. UNQUOTE
The media is reporting between 96%-98% is gay sex.
What are the other patterns outside of sexual encounters?
Do you have any thoughts on monkeypox in the context of contra dancing?
- On a typical evening there will generally be skin to skin contact with multiple people. More with whoever you're partnered with for a given piece. But also whoever you swing with (ballroom position, and we are often wearing short sleeves for personal comfort)
- The contra dance community is generally welcoming of all sorts of people. It's not hard to imagine monkeypox getting to at least one unwitting contra dancer
- people travel long distances to go to a contra dance. They frequently carpool on long trips to big festivals.
We are currently going all-in with Covid safety protocols (N95 masks, vaxes and boosters if eligible). Long sleeves would be a rather impractical in hot weather.
My question is whether with the current state of play (Covid still rampant, monkeypox emerging, and exteeme heat events) - is this activity irreducibly hazardous right now?
Please address the polio outbreak. Do adults need a booster? Are vaccinated children at risk?
In am wondering about how this will play out in long term care centers and day care centers once it is more common in the general population.
Did I read correctly that us "old fogeys" who were vaccinated against smallpox as a child are protected?
Preprint, but compared to the other study of surfaces that was shortly after use, this is what was left just 4 days later.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.08.09.22278460v1
Monkeypox virus contamination in an office-based workplace environment, England 2022
Abstract
In May 2022, an office worker attended their place of work while experiencing prodromal symptoms of monkeypox infection. Environmental sampling performed four days later identified only low levels of monkeypox virus DNA contamination of the worker’s desk, and no contamination elsewhere within the office. Replication-competent virus was not identified.