Monkeypox patient may unknowingly spread virus | News

Monkeypox symptoms manifest themselves in different ways, or sometimes not at all, the researchers write. In one study, the scientists found monkeypox virus in samples from people who visited ITM for a gonorrhea and chlamydia test. Those people showed no symptoms of monkey pox, although the virus was found in them. “They may have also been spreading the monkeypox virus without being aware of it,” the study said.

The ITM houses a large HIV and STI clinic that receives more than 5,000 patients every year. Doctors took samples for gonorrhea and chlamydia tests from 237 men in May. A subsequent PCR test for monkeypox virus was performed on 224 samples, of which four tested positive. Affected patients were immediately notified and invited for further investigation. One person had complaints that were initially reminiscent of herpes instead of monkey pox. The other three patients showed no symptoms, but were found to have antibodies.

“An important finding is that these patients were not aware of their infection,” warns clinical virologist Koen Vercauteren. “So the diagnosis would not have been made if they didn’t happen to have an appointment with ITM. Future research should show whether asymptomatic patients can also infect others.”

“If we want to contain an outbreak, it may not be enough to only test people who spontaneously present themselves with monkey pox complaints,” concludes Christophe Van Dijck, doctor at ITM. “Patients and caregivers need to know that the symptoms can resemble those of other diseases and are sometimes barely noticeable or even invisible. Persons with a risk profile must therefore be able to be tested in an accessible way. Finally, we must track down contacts of infected people more intensively and focus as much as possible on vaccination.”

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