HEALTH Monkeypox - more bad news

bracketquant

Veteran Member
I bought a box of rubber gloves for the pantry. I'll buy another one next time I do errands. I remember how quickly they disappeared last time.
Hmm. I could see some people panicking if there happens to be an outbreak. They'll don rubber gloves, be allergic to the latex, break out in hives, and falsely think that they have monkeypox.

Putting that on my 2024 BINGO card, just in case.
 

Meemur

Voice on the Prairie / FJB!
Hmm. I could see some people panicking if there happens to be an outbreak. They'll don rubber gloves, be allergic to the latex, break out in hives, and falsely think that they have monkeypox.

Putting that on my 2024 BINGO card, just in case.

I can't post the photo, but they make non-latex gloves. I also use them for working on the car and when I have to stitch up an injured animal. They will be used, no matter what.
 

bw

Fringe Ranger
Hmm. I could see some people panicking if there happens to be an outbreak. They'll don rubber gloves, be allergic to the latex, break out in hives, and falsely think that they have monkeypox.
Get nitrile. Order a case. My wife and I wear them whenever we're out in the world, shopping and whatnot. But you're right, people won't know, and will think they have it.
 

bracketquant

Veteran Member
Get nitrile. Order a case. My wife and I wear them whenever we're out in the world, shopping and whatnot. But you're right, people won't know, and will think they have it.
Anyone who knows anything about nursing should know about glove material options. I used to have daily visiting nurses for my mother. Every month or so, a nurse would run out of their own gloves. I bought a few boxes of nitrile gloves (the largest size) in case of emergencies.
 

bracketquant

Veteran Member
I can't game this. We have millions of doses ready for the first world, when the third world is left to percolate mutations. Somebody decided to make money.
I hope they are paid upfront to just manufacture, not paid for when they're used. I wouldn't want to see someone "create" a use, in order to get paid.
 

Meemur

Voice on the Prairie / FJB!
I'm so tired. That thing I do, it's been happening in my real world and running just about 96 hours ahead. 96 hours of heads up is not enough for big events.

Sending a mental hug. How does that old saw go? Grant me the patience for things I can control and wine for the things I can't. Here's a virtual glass.

And thanks for the warnings. I do heed them, even if I seem like a doubter sometimes. 96 hours is enough to do a few things.

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Meemur

Voice on the Prairie / FJB!
I've been through several extended times of no power due to wind, and then crap like SARS and COVID. Then there was the recession of the 1980s in Michigan, with all the related problems that having no money brings.

I and others are somewhat emotionally prepared for a triple threat: no power, no money, and disease. However, that doesn't mean any of us want to go through it, so if you ever have any insights about prevention, let us know.

This is also a good topic for gatherings of people who may be able to make a difference.
 

Meemur

Voice on the Prairie / FJB!
Also, before I forget, 96 hours, from the post Helen mentioned it, is Tuesday (May 21).
May 24 is the next "bad day" on Desert Vet's previous list.

Need to enter those on my DOOM (TM) calendar so I can give proper credit if anything happens.
 
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night driver

ESFP adrift in INTJ sea
Helen, virtual hugs and a virtual smudge bundle of Sage, and a few small rocks of Copal so you can at least cover and calm down your house.
I'm to the point of hunting up MY smudge bundles and Copal and charcoal for here.

Y'all got a few extra prayers on the way, ma'am.
 

Ractivist

Pride comes before the fall.....Pride month ended.
Helen, I'd do my best to take your mind off what ails you, whatever it takes. I'm that solid of a man. But hence, the distance and the wife just make it impossible. I'm there for you mentally, and that's all that's impotent...kinda.
 

Cyanatic

Contributing Member
From The Daily Mail....

(There are lots of charts and maps within the article which I could not import - sorry. Worth a look, I think.) Helen, thank you for your work on this topic.


Congo is suffering biggest mpox outbreak ever that could soon spread to US...after arrival of new, ultra-infectious, deadly strain, CDC report warns​

By EMILY JOSHU HEALTH REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 13:10 EDT, 16 May 2024 | UPDATED: 13:56 EDT, 16 May 2024

Health officials warn that cases of mpox have reached an all-time high in some areas of Africa, which they fear 'could spread to other countries' including the US.

In a newly released report, CDC officials reported that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has seen an increase of mpox (formerly called Monkeypox) from 2023 to 2024.

Though the disease, which causes skin rashes and lesions, is an endemic in DRC, US experts fear that the increase in a more severe form of mpox called clade I could lead to a repeat of its rapid spread in other countries like the US and UK.

CDC officials have urged Americans most vulnerable to mpox to get vaccinated before the virus potentially returns to the US. Dr Jono Mermin, director of the CDC's National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention division, wrote on X Thursday: 'Two doses of the #mpox vaccine is safe & protects from severe illness.'

News of the illness, which often infects gay and bisexual men, comes as the US and other countries around the world prepare to celebrate Pride month in June.

The report also comes after officials found a mutant strain of mpox with 'pandemic potential' in the small town of Kamituga.

Additionally, news of the illness, which often infects gay and bisexual men, comes as the US and other countries around the world prepare to celebrate Pride month in June.

Mpox is divided into two categories: clade I and clade II.

Clade I, which officials state has never been detected outside of endemic African regions, is the more severe form of the illness.

Outbreaks of clade I have killed up to 10 percent of infected people, according to the CDC. It is endemic to Central Africa.

The less severe form is known as clade II, which has spread to the US and UK, among other developed nations. The CDC estimates that 99.9 percent of patients survive. This form is endemic to West Africa.

The CDC analyzed data from DRC's national infectious disease surveillance system.

It found that there were 19,919 cases of clade I Mpox reported between January 1, 2023, and April 14, 2024, along with 975 deaths.

CDC officials called it DRC's 'largest surge of Mpox cases every recorded.'

Roughly 67 percent of infections were in patients under 15 years old, and these patients accounted for 78 percent of deaths.

Children ages one to five years made up 28 percent of infections.

Cases came from 25 out of 26 DRC provinces, and for the first time, hit the capital city of Kinshasa. However, they were mostly concentrated in the western province of Equateur.

The CDC researchers noted that cases could from contact with multiple types of infected animals. 'Communicable spread to close contacts within households likely contributes substantially to the case count,' the experts wrote.

They also suggested that varying demographics across provinces, such as sexual preference, could result 'in a complex epiemiologic picture.

The World Health Organization states that mpox spreads through skin-to-skin contact with an infected person, contact with bodily fluids, intimate sexual contact, or contact with infected animals.

MPox sparked alarm among US health officials in 2022 when clade II began to spread rapidly among gay and bisexual men, reaching a peak of 450 cases a day in August of that year.

But infections appeared to have tapered off amid boosted awareness of the disease and a hurried vaccination program.

In total, 32,063 cases were diagnosed with mpox and 58 people died from the disease.

As of January 2024, the CDC is no longer updating its Mpox data, leaving detection up to local and state authorities.

The CDC said it is working to expand laboratory testing for mpox throughout DRC and conducting research on the JYNNEOS vaccine, which is approved in the US for mpox and smallpox.

The agency warned that while clade I has not been seen in the US, those most vulnerable to infection, such as gay men, may need to take extra precautions.

'To date, no cases of clade I mpox have been reported in the United States or in any countries where the virus is not endemic,' the researchers said.

'However, given the documented sexual transmission of clade I MPXV in DRC, persons engaging in certain sexual behaviors (e.g., MSM with multiple sexual partners and sex workers) might be at increased risk if clade I mpox is introduced into the United States.'

The agency issued a health alert in December 2023 urging doctors to look out for mpox in people with signs and symptoms who had recently been to the DRC.

Additionally, it issued a Level 2 Travel Health Notice, which suggests avoiding contact with wild animals, steering clear of sick people, not touching contaminated objects like bedding, and getting vaccinated if you have certain risk factors.

These include being a gay or bisexual man, having sexual contact with an at-risk individual, or have with someone who may have mpox.

Monkeypox Q&A: Everything you need to know​

What is monkeypox?
Monkeypox is a rare viral infection which people usually pick up in the tropical areas of west and central Africa.
It is usually spread through direct contact with animals such as squirrels, which are known to harbour the virus.
However, it can also be transmitted through very close contact with an infected person.
Monkeypox was first discovered when an outbreak of a pox-like disease occurred in monkeys kept for research in 1958.
The first human case was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the infection has been reported in a number of central and western African countries since then.
Only a handful of cases have been reported outside of Africa and they were confined to people with travel links to the continent.

How deadly is it?

Monkeypox is usually mild, with most patients recovering within a few weeks without treatment. Yet, the disease can prove fatal.
Monkeypox kills up to 10 per cent of people it infects.
However, with milder strains the fatality rate is closer to one in 100 — similar to when Covid first hit.

Is there a cure?

Because monkeypox is closely related to the virus that causes smallpox, jabs for smallpox can also protect people from getting monkeypox.

One vaccine, Jynneos, also known as Imvamune or Imvanex, has been licensed in the US, but it's not approved in the UK.

The vaccine was shown to be around 85 per cent effective in preventing monkeypox infection.
Antivirals and pooled blood from individuals vaccinated against smallpox can be used to treat severe cases.
 
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