An mpox patient had 75 sexual partners in three weeks before developing symptoms of the skin infection, a study shows.
A new study examining the spread of mpox in Ireland between 2022 and 2023 has documented the number of sexual encounters people had before they developed a fever and rashes, highlighting a striking outlier.
two
Although the average number of sexual partners people had in the 21 days before the onset of symptoms was about two, a busy mpox patient certainly appears to have exceeded that number.
The person reported having intimate relationships with an astonishing 75 people which led to the mpox infection.
Mpox is a viral infection that causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions.
Until a few years ago, most cases were reported in Central and West Africa, but the United Kingdom and other countries saw an influx of infections in May 2022.
Between May, 3,700 cases of mpox have been identified in the UK since 7 May 2022.
Most cases of mpox are mild, causing fever, muscle aches, tremors, and exhaustion, followed by a rash of fluid-filled blisters that usually starts on the face.
Infections tend to spread through close physical contact – such as during sex, kissing or hugging – as well as by sharing towels and bedding or by coughing and sneezing from an infected person.
But health authorities recently warned of a mutant variant of mpox that is spreading across Central Africa and can only be transmitted through daily touching.
Dubbed the “most dangerous strain of mpox yet,” it left hundreds dead and prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a public health emergency.
The Irish study – published in Irish Medical Journal – examined the spread of mpox cases between May 2022 and May 2023, when infections in the UK reached their peak.
It confirmed 229 infections during that 12-month period.
The majority – 226 of them – were men and the remaining three were women.
When known, 98.6 percent (206) identified as gay, bisexual, and other men who had sex with men.
Only 20 – just over 10 per cent – of Irish mpox patients were admitted to hospital and no deaths occurred.
Nearly half of those affected were between the ages of 18 and 34, although patients ranged in age from 16 to 68.
And the median number of sexual partners in the 21 days before the onset of symptoms was two.
“In Ireland, as in many countries, the mpox outbreak peaked in late summer 2022, followed by a rapid decline in the number of cases,” the study authors said.
A total of 3,7732 cases of mpox were identified in 2021 across the UK, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.
Between 2023 and May 31 of this year, 220 cases were reported.
Although cases in the UK are not as high as they were two summers ago, health authorities are sounding alarms in Central African countries – with fears that the outbreak could reach other parts of the world, including Europe.
Symptoms of mpox that have nothing to do with blemishes
The most obvious symptom of mpox is the characteristic spots.
According to the NHS, these lesions go through four stages, from flat patches to raised patches, from blisters to scabs.
But people are also likely to experience flu-like symptoms, which will begin between five and 21 days after infection.
Symptoms usually improve on their own over two to four weeks.
The NHS says these include:
- Inflammation of the rectum (proctitis) – for example, pain or bleeding from the anus
- High temperature (fever)
- Headache
- Flu-like symptoms, including muscle and back pain, tremors, and tiredness
- Swollen glands that look like new lumps (on the neck, armpits, or groin)
If you have any of these symptoms and believe you may have monkeypox, stay home, avoid close contact with others, and seek medical help over the phone until you are evaluated.
There are some complications associated with mpox such as bacterial infection caused by skin lesions, mpox affecting the brain (encephalitis), heart (myocarditis) or lungs (pneumonia).
There are two types – known as clades – of mpox, clade 1 and clade 2. The latter was responsible for the global outbreak in 2022, while clade 1 can cause more serious illness and death.
Experts say the new mutant variant known as clade 1lb behaves “extremely differently” from clades 1 and 2.
The disease appears to be causing miscarriages among pregnant women, as well as “horrible rashes all over the body” and other persistent symptoms.
About 8,600 mpox cases and 410 deaths have been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo alone so far this year, Cris Kacita, the doctor in charge of operations in the country’s mpox control program, told Reuters.
In South Africa, three people have died, with at least 16 laboratory-confirmed cases, the country’s health ministry said.
“There is a critical need to address the recent increase in mpox cases,” said Rosamund Lewis, the World Health Organization (WHO) technical lead for mpox.
Professor Trudie Lang, director of the Oxford University Global Health Network, said these significant differences from previous strains of mpox are “incredibly worrying”.
She added: “There is definitely an opportunity to get on a plane,” so countries around the world – including those in Europe – could be at risk through travel.
“We need to be really vigilant now and try to act to contain it.”
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
