Monkeypox Can Be Transmitted Before Symptoms Appear

People with monkeypox can transmit the virus up to four days before symptoms appear. More than half of the broadcasts could therefore take place during these four days. That’s according to a new study.

The preliminary findings of the study, published in the journal BMJ, indicate that isolation of many monkeypox infections can no longer be prevented after the onset of symptoms.

The study was conducted in the UK – the first country outside Africa to see a cluster of cases in May this year. Researchers from the UK Health Authority examined infection tracking data and questionnaires from 2,746 people who tested positive for monkeypox in the UK between May and August.

About 95 percent of the study participants were men who had sex with men — a group hard hit by the current global monkeypox outbreak.

Monkeypox is a much less dangerous relative of smallpox, which has been eradicated for some 40 years. Typical symptoms of the disease include a high fever, swollen lymph nodes, and pustules similar to chickenpox.

The disease is transmitted through close body and skin contact. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), young men who have sexual intercourse with young men are particularly affected. If monkeypox is left untreated, the symptoms usually go away on their own after two to four weeks.

Until this year, the disease mainly occurred in West and Central Africa, but has also spread to other countries since May. However, numbers in Western Europe and North America, which are particularly affected, have been declining since July. Since May, the WHO has counted more than 77,000 cases in 109 countries, 36 of which were fatal.

According to the latest figures from the Federal Office of Health, about 550 cases of monkeypox have been registered in Switzerland. The number of cases has decreased in recent weeks compared to the summer. (aeg/sda/afp)