First it was COVID-19. Now, it’s monkeypox, which was declared a U.S. public health emergency in August.
To better understand this latest outbreak, we visited recently with St. Tammany Health System infectious disease expert Dr. Mike Hill. Here’s what he had to tell us:
Who is most at risk of getting monkeypox?
Right now, this is primarily a male disease. It is highest with men who have sex with men, but, just like with HIV, which started in the gay population, it can cross over into the heterosexual population from infected men who are bisexual or have exposure to other people or animals.
Animals? Can you give it to dogs? Can you give it to cats?
Yes, you can, and vice-versa.
So how does it spread?
We know you can get it from animals that carry the virus, but most transmission is human-to-human, and it’s usually through direct personal contact with sores, scabs or body fluids. You can also get it through respiratory secretions, but it has to be through prolonged close contact; 15 minutes or more. It’s not something where you can pass somebody on the street and get monkeypox.
So far, we haven’t seen any transmission from pregnant mothers to an unborn child, but certainly we’ll be looking for that.
What are the symptoms?
Skin lesions are the easiest way to detect it, although some infected people never develop them. The rash will occur 98-99% of the time and will develop one to three days after fever, although there are some occasions where people get the rash first and then fever. Other symptoms include swollen lymph nodes, muscle aches and chills.
Is there a vaccine?
There isn’t a vaccine specifically for monkeypox, but it’s in the same genus as smallpox, so we’re using a smallpox vaccine to prevent it. The vaccine currently available in the United States is the JYNNEOS vaccine, which requires two doses taken 28 days apart. We believe it’s about 85% effective, which is the efficacy of the smallpox vaccine – no vaccine is 100% effective – but this is basically real-time research going on.
Generally, we’d like to see the vaccine administered at least four days before exposure, although it takes about 14 days after getting the second dose for maximum immunity.
How worried should I be about this?
If you’re in a high-risk group, you should be vigilant, but there’s no cause for panic. As of early September, there were 19,000 reported cases in the U.S., but only one recorded death, so the mortality rate is low. In Louisiana, it’s most prevalent in the southeast part of the state, which is where we are, but it looks like the number of cases are starting to wane in the Northeast and on the West Coast, where it spiked early.