Diseases & Outbreaks News and Discussions

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wjfox
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Only a matter of time before a highly transmissible bird flu makes the jump to humans and creates an epidemic. If the epidemic becomes a pandemic then it could radically alter the course of the 21st century. Most of the bird flu cases in humans since 1997 had 40-60% mortality rate.
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wjfox wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 7:15 am Only a matter of time before a highly transmissible bird flu makes the jump to humans and creates an epidemic. If the epidemic becomes a pandemic then it could radically alter the course of the 21st century. Most of the bird flu cases in humans since 1997 had 40-60% mortality rate.
When it comes to pandemics, the first thing I worry the most about how the supply chain is going to be affected. Unless it is mostly automated, I'm afraid that with such high mortality rate, which I'm certain will affect the supply chain workers, it will collapse to an extent not seen in this Covid pandemic. A lot of people are going to die from starvation and lack of access to life-saving medicines. :?
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wjfox wrote: Sat May 14, 2022 2:50 pm Two people diagnosed with monkeypox in London, health officials confirm

It comes after a person who had recently travelled to Nigeria tested positive for the disease after arriving in England. Health officials say they are now investigating where the two latest cases picked up the infection.

Saturday 14 May 2022 10:23, UK

Two people have been diagnosed with monkeypox in London, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed.

The pair live in the same household and are not linked to another person who was diagnosed with the disease in England earlier this month.

The viral infection is similar to human smallpox and usually causes mild illness, with most people recovering within a few weeks.

One of the latest people to test positive is being treated at the expert infectious diseases unit at St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London.

https://news.sky.com/story/two-people-d ... m-12612633


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Credit: WHO/Nigeria Centre for Disease Control

Monkeypox: Four more cases detected in England

1 hour ago

Four more people in England have been diagnosed with monkeypox.

The UK Health Security Agency says the risk to the public remains very low, although it appears the individuals caught it in the UK.

Monkeypox is usually associated with travel to West Africa.

The new cases - three in London and one in north-east England - do not have any known links with two other cases confirmed on 14 May or another case announced on 7 May.

The UKHSA says investigations are under way to establish links between the latest four cases, who all appear to have been infected in London.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61470940
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Portugal finds 5 monkeypox cases in men as outbreak spreads

18 May 2022, 13:58

LISBON, Portugal -- Portuguese health authorities on Wednesday confirmed five cases of monkeypox in young men, marking an unusual outbreak in Europe of a disease typically limited to Africa.

Portugal's General Directorate for Health said they were also investigating 15 suspected cases and that all were identified this month in the area around the capital, Lisbon.

All the Portuguese cases involve men, most of them young, authorities said. They have skin lesions and were reported to be in stable condition. Authorities did not say if the men had a history of travel to Africa or any links with recent cases in Britain or elsewhere.

British health authorities said earlier this week they had identified four cases of monkeypox spread in London among gay and bisexual men. Spain’s Health Ministry said it had detected eight suspected cases of monkeypox that still needed to be confirmed.

The disease belongs to a family of viruses that includes chickenpox and smallpox.

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory ... s-84803304


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Monkeypox alert in Spain after eight men show symptoms

Wed 18 May 2022 12.54 BST

Health authorities in Spain have issued an alert over a possible outbreak of monkeypox after eight men showed symptoms compatible with the viral infection, which has already been detected in the UK and Portugal.

In a statement, the health ministry cautioned that the eight suspected cases – all in the Madrid region – had yet to be confirmed, but said a nationwide alert had been issued “to guarantee a swift, coordinated and timely response”.

A spokesperson for Madrid’s regional health department said the suspected cases were being analysed by the National Microbiology Centre to obtain a definitive diagnosis.

“Generally speaking, monkeypox is spread by respiratory transmission, but the characteristics of the eight suspected cases point towards fluid contact,” the spokesperson said. “The eight suspected cases in Madrid are among men who have sex with men. They are doing well but this illness can require hospital treatment.”

Fernando Simón, an epidemiologist who heads Spain’s health emergencies centre, said while it was unlikely that monkeypox would spread significantly, “that can’t be ruled out”.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... w-symptoms


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For the sake of our sanity let’s keep the monkeypox news here for now. In the godforsaken scenario where this thing starts spreading like covid did a new thread would be fine of course.

Starting to get concerned but I really hope it fizzles out. Does it really make statistic sense to have a another pandemic so soon? The one saving grace is that if it starts a new pandemic we already have a vaccine for smallpox that should work.
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Monkeypox: Two more people infected to take total to nine in UK

2 hours ago

Two more people with monkeypox have been identified, taking the total number of cases in the UK to nine.

Both live in the South East of England - where most of the cases have been identified - and it is thought they got the infection through spread in the community, rather than travel.

[...]

Prof Kevin Fenton said treatments for monkeypox included vaccines and antiviral agents, and the current strategy was to "vaccinate the highest priority people", such as household contacts of those infected.

"We're watching closely to see how this spreads over the next week or two and then we'll get a better sense of how to project and plan for the month ahead," he added.

Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at UKHSA, said: "These latest cases, together with reports of cases in countries across Europe, confirms our initial concerns that there could be spread of monkeypox within our communities."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61501679
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everything I've seen so far talks about how difficult it is to spread monkey pox from person to person, and the low incidence of bad outcomes, and the fact that immunity can already be had via existing vaccines for other pox.

so, while I could be wrong, I feel like this isn't even on par with the measles outbreaks of the last decade.

But it does sort of seem alarming that we are getting multi continent infectious disease outbreaks again. have we learned nothing? how are we still so easily getting these to happen?
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Ken_J wrote: Wed May 18, 2022 10:03 pm
But it does sort of seem alarming that we are getting multi continent infectious disease outbreaks again. have we learned nothing? how are we still so easily getting these to happen?
Not to come across as very cynical, the way we are reacting to turn of events such as this is very inexorably human. Despite the history lessons and knowledge we've gained, we tend to revert back to our basic instincts when we face something quite inconvenient.
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Monkeypox cases under investigation in Canada as outbreak spreads in Europe, U.S.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/monkeypo ... -1.6458523
Health officials in Quebec are investigating more than a dozen cases of suspected monkeypox in Canada, after U.S. and European health officials confirmed rising cases of the rare infectious disease — suggesting a wider outbreak may be happening globally.

Radio-Canada reported Wednesday that Montreal public health officials are investigating at least 13 cases flagged by doctors in the city, following diagnoses made in three clinics specializing in sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections. Laboratory confirmation of the cases are in progress and an announcement is expected in the coming days.
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