Discussion - Thoughts on a global outbreak of monkeypox

[Emily]

2018 in UK. So far no reports of transmissions to hotel workers from handling sheets and towels. Seems the virus changed quite a bit since then.

https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum...f-monkeypox-virus-united-kingdom-october-2018

The transmission reported here occurred from a patient with a travel-associated case to an HCW. The only exposure risk identified during assessment of patient 3 was the changing of potentially contaminated bedding, when patient 2 had multiple skin lesions but before a diagnosis of monkeypox had been considered. The use of standard PPE may not have afforded sufficient protection against monkeypox, particularly if skin lesion debris containing virus had been disturbed and inhaled when bedsheets were changed.

 

[Emily]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7101111/

This is the experimental prophylactic use of Jynneos, called Imvanex at the time. They timed it according to the vax used during the 2003 US outbreak. But that was done with the ACAM2000 vaccine.

Patient 3 was vaccinated against smallpox on September 14, which was 5 days after the most recent exposure and possibly 6 or 7 days after the earliest exposure to patient 2. Patient 3 had not previously received smallpox vaccine.

On September 22, while off duty, patient 3 noticed a small number of facial lesions and stayed home for the next 2 days but did not report illness to PHE. On September 24, patient 3 sought care with a general practitioner for headache, sore throat, skin lesions on the chin, earache, and eye pain. Patient 3 then reported the illness to PHE.

The general practitioner discussed the case with PHE and provided images of the skin lesions, which were consistent with monkeypox. Further medical assessment of patient 3 at the local hospital was arranged. After assessment and collection of diagnostic specimens, patient 3 remained isolated at home. On September 25, monkeypox was confirmed by PCR testing of multiple sample types, and patient 3 was admitted to an Airborne HCID Treatment Centre.

A total of 4 contacts of patient 3 became ill within the incubation period and required medical assessment. No further cases of monkeypox were identified in relation to this incident and, after clinical improvement, patient 3 was discharged on October 29, 2018.

There are no details about the for sick contacts. Were they tested?

 

[Emily]

Monkeypox controversies

https://merylnass.substack.com/p/where-did-money-pock-come-from
Where did Money Pock$ come from?
What a coincidence that FDA approved a sketchy monkeypox vaccine in 2019.



Meryl Nass
Jun 22

This virus has never spread like this before. I don't think a rave or two can explain how it suddenly appeared in 20 countries on 4 continents at once. The simultaneous nature of widespread cases, and apparent increased human-to-human transmission suggest it was spread deliberately and may have been engineered.

The initial full genome sequence, performed in Portugal, revealed the current strain most closely matched a strain that had been identified in 2018 and 2019 in Israel, the UK and Singapore. This is suggestive of lab origin, but not definitive proof. Hopefully there are some honest virologists who will continue to study the genome, and more will become clear with time. Hopefully Tony Fauci and Jeremy Farrar have not organized yet another coverup of the origins of the moneypox strain.

Why MONEYPOX?? Could it be because there is a vaccine?

• Doesn't anyone else think it odd that this virus just happens to be susceptible (so they claim) to a vaccine that the US Government has stockpiled?

• Doesn't anyone else think it is odd that the FDA approved (licensed) a vaccine for moneypox named Jynneos in 2019, when there had only been about 50 human cases diagnosed in the US, cumulatively, during the past 60 years?

• Why license a vaccine for a rare disease that almost nobody dies from?

• Why license the vaccine for moneypox when it was never tested to see if it prevented moneypox in humans? ...

 

[Emily]

If they use lessons from covid-19, some technocrats will get even richer, most people will be poorer, and we'll all be getting monkeypox 3-4 times a year!

https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/354260/9789240046740-eng.pdf?sequence=1
GLOBAL INFECTIOUS HAZARDS PREPAREDNESS WHO ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON
VARIOLA VIRUS RESEARCH REPORT OF THE TWENTY-THIRD MEETING
VIRTUAL MEETING, 3–4 NOVEMBER 2021

While making monkeypox a priority among competing health priorities could be a
challenge, it was suggested that until the current pandemic, coronaviruses also did not
elicit widespread concern. Monkeypox could be a similar case and it was considered
likely that the number of monkeypox cases was being underreported. Another challenge
to such a roadmap could be with funding: government agencies were funding smallpox
research, not monkeypox. The Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Initiative (RADx) of the
United States National Institutes of Health, established to fund research for COVID-19,
is another example of a potentially useful public-private partnership; it was reported to
be considering other research options, among them smallpox. It was suggested that a
subgroup of the Committee could work on the topic in the coming year.
Recommendations made by the Committee on this topic can be found at the end of
the report.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
The Committee undertook to discuss the implications for preparedness for smallpox-like
events arising from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The discussion covered a range of
topics including the rapid development of vaccines and diagnostics as well as the importance
of equitable deployment, the ability to synthesize severe acute respiratory syndrome
coronavirus2 (SARS-CoV-2) from the sequenced genome before there was access to
the virus circulating elsewhere, and lessons learned for clinical care and deployment
of approved treatments. A number of observations were made and this summary also
includes related comments from substantive discussions earlier in the meeting.
The Committee discussed that the COVID-19 pandemic had revealed how quickly
diagnostics and vaccines could be developed and deployed when resources and
political will were abundant. Notwithstanding the rapid evolution of misinformation, the
pandemic had also created an awareness among the general population about public
health measures and the use of diagnostic tests, vaccines and new technologies to fight
emerging biological threats. The rapidity with which the world could develop nucleic acid
amplification tests, such as PCR and loop-mediated isothermal amplication tests, followed
by widespread development of rapid antigen tests had been due in part to the fact that the
genetic sequence of SARS-CoV-2 had been shared worldwide. Innovative technologies
such as messenger RNA and mRNA-carrying nanoparticles already under development
had been used to rapidly develop vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, production
capacity could be very high. The Committee agreed that new mRNA technologies may
have implications for smallpox vaccines in the future. Some members advocated the
further exploration of this potential as some work may already may be underway and
also noted that sequence information would also be important for further development of
antiviral treatments...

 

[sharon sanders]

Please also see:

Discussion - Genetics: Monkeypox virus has managed 50 years worth of mutations in only 4 years - how?

 

[sharon sanders]

It has been speculated for many years by pandemic planners that a group might manipulate a smallpox type virus to unleash on the world. Many governments have backup plans for such a threat. No surprise that a vaccine was approved 3 years ago. Novel avian flu is also one of the speculations. I believe there is also a vaccine stockpiled for H5N1 avian flu in the US. I also believe these stockpiles are tiny compared to the size of the population.

Dr. Nass is suspended from practice at this time. Apparently a psychiatric evaluation was ordered in January. https://www.pfr.maine.gov/ALMSOnlin...70469FD548834275B13F10A3F0B77AE165DF13080DF85

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.statnews.com/2022/06/28/next-epidemic-monkeypox-may-be-here-us-isnt-ready-for-it/

The next epidemic may be here. The U.S. isn’t ready for it
By David C. Harvey June 28, 2022

As if dealing with continued waves of Covid-19 isn’t enough, the U.S. is facing a new outbreak — monkeypox — that highlights just how close the U.S. public health system is to its breaking point.

While monkeypox has not technically been categorized as a sexually transmitted infection (STI), it looks and acts like common STIs and shares the same barriers to detection and treatment, including stigma and access to knowledgeable providers.

For people like me who are working inside the broad national response to monkeypox, there are loud echoes of the earliest days of Covid-19 and, longer ago, of AIDS. But understanding the country’s capacity to contain monkeypox requires an examination of the STI epidemic that the nation has ignored for years, which is why these diseases continue to be out of control.

Consider this: More than 2.5 million sexually transmitted infections were diagnosed in 2020, the last year with complete statistics. The ballooning rates touch people of every race, sexual orientation, and even age. Syphilis among newborns has increased 235% since 2016, and STIs like gonorrhea have reached historic highs among teens and adults.

The lack of accessible testing, combined with stigma, are major factors in the increases. Yet there is no dedicated federal funding to guarantee that communities can provide STI testing...

 

[Emily]

I'm no lawyer or mental health pro, but it looks like the board members are smearing her in a way that avoids libel/slander issues by simply ordering a psych exam. These board actions against Covid dissidents are fizzling since about 70% of the people in this country lost faith in the CDC, etc. We need our doctors - we know we'd have none if perfection were the standard.
Here's a case where, unlike in the Nass case, some serious allegations are actually made. If they are true, then you wonder why the board has been negligent for years until Covid narrative dissent occurs? Or if not true, you wonder if witnesses are being paid to smear her. Witch hunts will backfire.

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/in...duct/281-1b672130-cd1d-436f-8b7c-d686dfe61809

 

[sharon sanders]

bump this

 

[sharon sanders]

FluTrackers does not promote or endorse any treatments, vaccines, medicines, etc. If you have any medical questions, consult your medical practitioner.


Matt Ford

@JMatthiasFord
I have monkeypox currently and this shit is absolutely no joke. If you’re in New York and can get the vaccine, go do it.
3:11 PM · Jun 23, 2022·Twitter for iPhone
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Matt Ford

@JMatthiasFord
·
Jun 23
Replying to
@JMatthiasFord
To share a little bit about my experience: I believe I was exposed to it around a week before symptoms manifested. Started off with just a couple bumps, then developed intense flu-like symptoms. Fever, chills, sweats, fatigue, etc.
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Matt Ford

@JMatthiasFord
·
Jun 23
Then those symptoms lessened and more spots appeared in various places on my body. I didn't even notice some at first, but they've quickly become itchy and painful. (Particularly if on or near any sensitive areas.) A showed up on my face, as well.
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Matt Ford

@JMatthiasFord
·
Jun 23
I went to my doctor and they did a swab culture on a couple of spots. Those were sent to the Dept of Public Health, which confirmed I tested positive.
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Matt Ford

@JMatthiasFord
·
Jun 23
Some people I know who've had it reported mild cases, but the exposure web I'm linked to has had some severe symptoms. I'm currently struggling to sleep through the night. This shit sucks.
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Matt Ford

@JMatthiasFord
·
Jun 23
All that to say: Get vaccinated for it if you can and be careful, especially New Yorkers with Pride this weekend. And the government needs to pick up the pace on vaccines and testing. The slow response is pretty unacceptable. That's all I got.
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Matt Ford

@JMatthiasFord
·
Jun 23
PS. To clarify, I believe I was exposed in LA and am quarantining in LA. (I'm bicoastal.) I specified New York because they're the first to offer the new vaccine.
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Matt Ford

@JMatthiasFord
·
Jun 23
FYI, just learned from a doctor that vaccines are being offered in LA on Melrose but also limited supply, potentially only in cases of exposure.
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Matt Ford

@JMatthiasFord
·
Jun 23
For those asking how I got it: It was through skin-to-skin contact. Here’s the CDC on how it spreads and what the spots look like (I can confirm):


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https://www.tiktok.com/@jmatthiasford/video/7113735791133658410?_t=8TW9CCEw2fe&_r=1

 

[Emily]

I wish someone would warn people with children in the household to consider not attending high risk events. I think there are up to 4 children infected already.

 

[Pathfinder]

Translation Google

Monkey pox: the presence of the virus in sperm is “neither rare nor random”, according to Italian researchers
...
By Le Parisien with AFP
June 30, 2022 at 1:53 p.m.
...
The Italian team is now trying to determine how long the virus remains present in semen after the onset of symptoms. In one patient, DNA from the virus was detected three weeks after the onset of symptoms, even after the lesions disappeared, a phenomenon that Vaia said has been seen in the past in viral infections such as zika. This could indicate that the risk of transmission could be reduced by using condoms in the weeks following recovery.
...
During their first study, they had observed through the culture of the virus in the laboratory that it was “present in the semen as a contagious virus and able to reproduce”, according to Mr. Vaia.
...
https://www.leparisien.fr/societe/sa...XMIXV33IHA.php

Related to:
https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum...mission-through-sexual-contact-italy-may-2022

 

[Zeffy]

If the latest OWID monkeypox data are correct:

https://ourworldindata.org/monkeypox

,then the doubling time (from 3000 to 6000 cases) was approximately 11 days. If the epidemic is not still in the case discovery phase then this could be something very big.

 

[Pathfinder]

From ANSES (French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety):


Monkey pox: what risk of transmission through food?

An increase in the number of people infected with the Monkeypox virus responsible for “monkey pox” has recently been recorded, in France as elsewhere, mainly in Europe. This virus can be transmitted by direct contact with a sick person, as well as by respiratory droplets. ANSES received an emergency request to also assess the risk of transmission of this virus through food.

A risk that cannot be completely excluded

To date, transmission of the virus by ingestion of contaminated food has not been proven.

On the basis of the data available, the Agency nevertheless indicates that the risk of transmission of the Monkeypox virus to humans through food cannot be excluded. A food can thus be contaminated directly by a sick person, in particular if the latter handles it when there are lesions or scabs on the skin. Food can also be contaminated after contact with a surface that is itself contaminated. Transmission to humans through the food could then occur by ingestion or handling of the contaminated food.
...

Excerpt from post #46:
https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum...a/949179-france-monkeypox-outbreak-2022/page3

 

[Mary Wilson]

Sexual health worker reveals horrific battle with monkeypox that left him in hospital

22:41, 7 Jul 2022

By Matt Spivey & Sam Ormiston

A man ended up in hospital for weeks with monkeypox after noticing horrific lesions on his face, days after mistaking his symptoms for long Covid.

Harun Tulunay first noticed that he was unwell when he was struck with a fever in the second week of June, after recently contracting coronavirus.

But when his Covid test came back negative and his fever reached temperatures approaching 40C, the alarm bells started ringing.

Though most cases of the virus have been mild, the 35-year-old ended up needing urgent treatment in hospital - and was isolated in a room on his own.

Harun, who lives in Shoreditch, North London, was forced to cover himself in four blankets to keep his body warm while he was feeling chills - despite the rest of the capital being in the middle of a heatwave, MyLondon reports.

With most of his friends still in Turkey, where he was born, Harun was battling high fevers, chills and painful swollen glands under his ears alone without his friends and family.

He began to develop a red and white rash, which he passed off as a side effect of the high fever he was suffering. ...

... When he was tested for monkeypox he said that "they hadn't seen a case like his before" and his "symptoms were not the ones they had seen with other people."

... Harun was hospitalised after he became unable to swallow his own spit, eat food or drink liquids...

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/sexual-health-worker-reveals-horrific-27426342

 

[Emily]

I hope his nose heals. He discloses that he is HIV+ and taking meds for that.

"I want to make one thing clear, I've not shared my story to to tell people that they'll become like me if they catch monkeypox, my case is really rare - I want to tell people to watch out for the symptoms and be sensible. If you have a fever, swollen gland or sore throat, stay at home, if you have blisters call your sexual health clinic."

 

[Emily]

Already at 7785 confirmed on this list.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CEBhao3rMe-qtCbAgJTn5ZKQMRFWeAeaiXFpBY3gbHE/edit#gid=0

 

[Emily]

I'm not sure how unvaccinated could have a higher risk of ADED from monkeypox, unless they had ancient smallpox vaccinations? I thought to have ADED, you have to have had an infection or vaccine for a similar virus.

https://www.voiceforscienceandsolidarity.org/scientific-blog/a-fairy-tale-of-pandemics
July 7, 2022
A Fairy Tale of Pandemics
By Geert Vanden Bossche

...
Based on all the above, you should not fall into the trap of getting yourself vaccinated against monkeypox, avian flu or even seasonal flu virus with non-replicating vaccines

• Health officials are now recommending vaccination against monkeypox using non-replicating vaccinia virus. However, usage of a non-replicating cowpox virus will only induce high titers of Abs that will not optimally recognize the circulating monkeypox virus. Although there is a high level of sequence homology among the surface proteins from cowpox, smallpox and monkeypox, it has already been established that the circulating monkeypox virus is rapidly evolving and adapting to the human population. In other words, high vaccinal Ab titers would already be confronted with a variant that the cowpox-matched Abs would not optimally recognize. This raises a serious concern in regard to Ab-dependent enhancement of disease (ADED), especially in unvaccinated people (i.e., who don’t ‘benefit’ from highly activated cytotoxic CD8+ T cells) with declining immunity (e.g., elderly, vulnerable people). The same applies, of course, to avian influenza virus which cannot be recognized by Abs induced or recalled by non-replicating influenza virus vaccines. On the other hand, live attenuated smallpox (or even influenza) vaccines are unlikely to work in healthy unvaccinated people with a thoroughly ’SC-2-trained’[5] innate immune system for lack of ‘vaccine take’ (though they would do no harm). Additionally, they would not be recommended for individuals with a weak innate immune system (elderly, vulnerable) for risk of causing severe disease.

 

[sharon sanders]

Kai Kupferschmidt

@kakape
The number of #monkeypox cases in non-endemic countries has now crossed 10.000. Countries with the highest number of detected cases so far: Spain: 2447 UK: 1735 Germany: 1694 US: 929 France: 721 Netherlands: 503 Portugal: 473 Canada: 433 Italy: 292
4:32 AM · Jul 13, 2022·Twitter for iPhone
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Kai Kupferschmidt

@kakape
·
2h
Replying to
@kakape
The virus is spreading in dozens of countries. Some are starting to take it more seriously, communicating more clearly and protecting the most vulnerable. Others not so much. But in order to eliminate the virus in non-endemic regions all countries have to stop it from spreading.
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Kai Kupferschmidt

@kakape
·
2h
This is what it looks like when yet another virus establishes itself in the human population. No-one knows how much suffering it will cause, how much money it will cost or how it will evolve and what problems it may cause in the future. Looks like we are determined to find out.
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Cornelius Roemer
@CorneliusRoemer
·
2h
Replying to
@kakape
I'd use population adjusted numbers, otherwise there is an arbitrary bias towards large countries Leaving out tiny countries, cases per mil inhabitants 1. Spain - 52 2. Portugal - 46 3. England - 29 4. Netherlands - 29 5. Germany - 20 6. Belgium - 19 ... 21. United States - 2.8

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Kai Kupferschmidt

@kakape
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57m
This was more about showing how those 10,000 break down. And I find raw numbers more informative this early in an outbreak that‘s mostly affecting one particular group and when thinking about risk and about vaccine doses for instance.


---------------------------------------------------



Maria Van Kerkhove

@mvankerkhove
·
2h
We can turn this around. We can stop onward transmission with accurate information, clear prevention messaging, testing, treatment and isolation, supported quarantine, strategic use of available vaccines under appropriate care. We can support research & researchers globally.
@WHO
Quote Tweet

Kai Kupferschmidt
@kakape
· 2h
This is what it looks like when yet another virus establishes itself in the human population. No-one knows how much suffering it will cause, how much money it will cost or how it will evolve and what problems it may cause in the future. Looks like we are determined to find out.

 

[Pathfinder]

FACE THE NATION

Transcript: Dr. Scott Gottlieb on "Face the Nation," July 17, 2022
face-the-nation

JULY 17, 2022 / 12:15 PM / CBS NEWS

The following is a transcript of an interview with Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former FDA commissioner and a member of the Pfizer board, that aired Sunday, July 17, 2022, on "Face the Nation."

MARGARET BRENNAN: There are now more than 1800 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the United States. States and cities where infections are spiking are now demanding more vaccines from the Biden administration.
...
MARGARET BRENNAN: Give us a sense of the scale of this because the CDC numbers are out. They say they're only eight women within that. No children. You're saying this is a pandemic? That's not a word the administration is using yet, what level of emergency are we at?

DR. GOTTLIEB: Yeah look, and I think they're going to be reluctant to use the word pandemic, because it implies that they've failed to contain this. And I think at this point, we've failed to contain this. We're now at the cusp of this becoming an endemic virus where this now becomes something that's persistent that we need to continue to deal with. I think the window for getting control of this and containing it probably has closed, and if it hasn't closed, it's certainly starting to close. 11,000 cases across the world right now. 1,800 cases, as you said, in the US. We're probably detecting just a fraction of the actual cases because we have a very, we had for a long time a very narrow case definition on who got tested. And by and large, we're looking in the community of men who have sex with men and STD clinics. So we're looking there, we're finding cases there. But it's a fact that there's cases outside that community right now. We're not picking them up, because we're not looking there. This has spread more broadly in the community. I wouldn't be surprised there's thousands of cases right now.

MARGARET BRENNAN: It's a little chilling to hear you say containment has failed. I've heard you say that before with COVID.

DR. GOTTLIEB: Well look, this isn't going to explode like COVID. This is a slower moving virus, which is why we could have gotten control of this if we had been more aggressive up front, and we made a lot of the same mistakes that we made with COVID with this - having a very narrow case definition not having enough testing early enough, not deploying vaccine in an aggressive fact- fashion to ring vaccinate. But now this is firmly embedded in the community. And while it's not going to explode, because it's harder for this virus to spread, it's probably going to be persistent, you'll-you'll have this as a sort of a fact of life, maybe spreading as a sexually transmitted disease, but also breaking out of those settings.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So the CDC said monkey pox can show up up to three weeks post exposure. What are the basic symptoms? If you have a rash you call your dermatologist? Who do you call?

DR. GOTTLIEB: Well, it's a vesicular rash. It's associated with fever and achiness. You know, the historically used to get a disseminated rash. What we're seeing right now is people aren't presenting with a widely diffused rash, but sometimes just a small number of vesicles. So I think it's being confused with other vesicular rashes, Herpes, Coxsackie could cause a vesicular rash, certainly chickenpox. Right now, anyone who presents with a particular rash that can't be explained by another etiology. So a rash that causes vesicles, should be tested for monkey pox, whether they come from a high risk community or not. That's the way we're going to snuff this out. We didn't have enough testing to do that. Now CDC has gotten in place more testing this probably adequate testing to broaden it to-to accomplish that. So we should be doing that physicians should be sending off these tests.
...

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/scott-g...n-07-17-2022/=