Eurosurv. Epidemiological, clinical and virological characteristics of four cases of monkeypox support transmission through sexual contact, Italy, May

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• Andrea Antinori[SUP]1[/SUP] , Valentina Mazzotta[SUP]1[/SUP] , Serena Vita[SUP]1[/SUP] , Fabrizio Carletti[SUP]1[/SUP] , Danilo Tacconi[SUP]2[/SUP] , Laura Emma Lapini[SUP]2[/SUP] , Alessandra D’Abramo[SUP]1[/SUP] , Stefania Cicalini[SUP]1[/SUP] , Daniele Lapa[SUP]1[/SUP] , Silvia Pittalis[SUP]1[/SUP] , Vincenzo Puro[SUP]1[/SUP] , Marco Rivano Capparuccia[SUP]3[/SUP] , Emanuela Giombini[SUP]1[/SUP] , Cesare Ernesto Maria Gruber[SUP]1[/SUP] , Anna Rosa Garbuglia[SUP]1[/SUP] , Alessandra Marani[SUP]1[/SUP] , Francesco Vairo[SUP]1[/SUP] , Enrico Girardi[SUP]1[/SUP] , Francesco Vaia[SUP]1[/SUP] , Emanuele Nicastri[SUP]1[/SUP] , the INMI Monkeypox Group[SUP]4[/SUP]

Since May 2022, an outbreak of monkeypox has been ongoing in non-endemic countries. We report four cases in Italy in young adult men reporting condomless sexual intercourse. The patients are in good clinical condition with no need for specific antiviral drugs. Biological samples from seminal fluid were positive for monkeypox viral DNA. For many other viruses found in semen there is no evidence of sexual transmission. The possibility of sexual transmission of monkeypox virus needs to be investigated.

https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.22.2200421#html_fulltext