Monkeypox

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Does this concern anyone? There are ten cases confirmed in the UK, and apparently the death rate is supposed to be higher than COVID-19 - but there’s so much scaremongering in the media these days.

One thing for sure is, there absolutely cannot be another lockdown, with their horrendous tolls on mental health and the economy.

Does anyone hear know anything about this that could shed some light and/or expel any scaremongering rumours?

 

[DelayRepay]

Monkeypox doesn't concern me too much; it seems to require very close personal contact to spread. It looks like most people who are infected don't suffer too seriously. I have seen the high death rate figure quoted in the press, but I assume that is based on countries in Africa who lack the healthcare provisions we have in the UK.

It is known that Smallpox vaccines are effective, and in the UK these are being offered to close contacts of confirmed cases. Should the need arise, we know the NHS can quickly scale up vaccine deployment. But I don't think this is necessary currently.

What does concern me is the possibility of panic, both among the population and by the government. I do not think our government will go down the route of a lockdown, but I fear we may see a reaction like we saw to Omicron in December, with the work from home guidelines reinstated. That would be a handy 'tool' for the government to manage the impact of the national rail strike that appears to be coming.

 

[island]

I am quite concerned, because we are in the same place as we were in February 2020 (give or take) and it feels like a "here we go again" type of situation.

Three-week self-isolation is being recommended for infected people.

 

[philosopher]

I am quite concerned, because we are in the same place as we were in February 2020 (give or take) and it feels like a "here we go again" type of situation.

Three-week self-isolation is being recommended for infected people.

I very much echo these concerns. I am not worried about Monkeypox at all, unlike in February 2020 when I was actually quite worried about Covid 19. What does worry me though is what the government response will be, given that lockdowns and social distancing may have become the default way of managing disease outbreaks.

 

[yorkie]

One thing for sure is, there absolutely cannot be another lockdown, with their horrendous tolls on mental health and the economy.

Does anyone hear know anything about this that could shed some light and/or expel any scaremongering rumours?

BBC actually did a good article on this:

Monkeypox: Time to worry or one to ignore?

We are facing an unusual and unprecedented monkeypox outbreak but how worrying is it?

www.bbc.co.uk

Let's be clear: this is not another Covid and we're not days away from lockdowns to contain the spread of monkeypox.
However, this is an unusual and unprecedented monkeypox outbreak. It has taken scientists who specialise in the disease by complete surprise and it is always a concern when a virus changes its behaviour.

It is transmitted mainly through bodily fluids so there is zero risk of anyone trying to force us to wear masks or keep us 1 or 2 metres apart or make us stay at home again.

 

[DelayRepay]

It is transmitted mainly through bodily fluids so there is zero risk of anyone trying to force us to wear masks or keep us 1 or 2 metres apart or make us stay at home again.

That is true. I also think the government realise how much harm the Covid restrictions caused (even if they will never admit that publicly), and therefore will have zero appetite to try anything similar. But no doubt we will see a few hysterical people panicking.

The current advice is sensible - people know how it spreads and can therefore take precautions. They know what the symptoms are, and what to do if they appear to have an infection. We know a lot more about this disease than we did about Covid in 2020 (remember then everyone thought door handles and hand shakes were major Covid transmission vectors), so there is absolutely no need for alarm.

 

[najaB]

Does anyone hear know anything about this that could shed some light and/or expel any scaremongering rumours?

AFAIAA, it's transmitted by close contact rather than being spread by airborne droplets so it's not really one that (currently) there's any reason to worry about.

 

[Bletchleyite]

AFAIAA, it's transmitted by close contact rather than being spread by airborne droplets so it's not really one that (currently) there's any reason to worry about.

I think this is not a given at the moment - there is some suggestion that it may actually have mutated to transmit on an airborne basis. There are a few possibilities as to why this situation seems a bit exceptional - another is COVID potentially causing some level of "immune amnesia" as measles does. It will be very interesting to see.

As we have an effective vaccine already (much more effective than any of the COVID vaccines), I think that needs to be stepped up and rolled out if it looks like this will get bad, so we avoid any of the last two years being repeated.

 

[brad465]

BBC actually did a good article on this:

Monkeypox: Time to worry or one to ignore?

We are facing an unusual and unprecedented monkeypox outbreak but how worrying is it?

www.bbc.co.uk

It is transmitted mainly through bodily fluids so there is zero risk of anyone trying to force us to wear masks or keep us 1 or 2 metres apart or make us stay at home again.

I wouldn't put it past somebody to recommend full body hazmat suits be worn outdoors at all times.

 

[ainsworth74]

and apparently the death rate is supposed to be higher than COVID-19

My understanding is that that is in parts of Africa where, sadly, access to modern medical equipment and training is either in extremely short supply or not available at all. Most things I've read have suggested that in a developed country with modern medical facilities the death rate will be considerably lower. Probably a nasty illness, the pictures look particularly grim, but not an especially fatal one.

Hopefully people are ramping up production of Smallpox vaccine seeing as that appears to confer very good protection against Monkeypox should we need to rollout an immunisation programme. But for the time being seems like something to keep an eye on rather than immediately rush and out buy toilet paper over.

 

[skyhigh]

the pictures look particularly grim

Listening to Radio 2 this afternoon, apparently there are two variants of monkeypox - Central African and Western African. The pictures shown in a lot of the media are of the Central variant that looks much worse. The variant that is spreading is the Western one, which results in smaller pimples rather than pustules.

Assuming that is correct, I would ignore a lot of the photos shown in the media.

 

[JohnMcL7]

Listening to Radio 2 this afternoon, apparently there are two variants of monkeypox - Central African and Western African. The pictures shown in a lot of the media are of the Central variant that looks much worse. The variant that is spreading is the Western one, which results in smaller pimples rather than pustules.

Assuming that is correct, I would ignore a lot of the photos shown in the media.

I'd read the same as well also pointing out that the western variant has a much lower fatality rate of 1% vs 10% of the central variant.

 

[ainsworth74]

Listening to Radio 2 this afternoon, apparently there are two variants of monkeypox - Central African and Western African. The pictures shown in a lot of the media are of the Central variant that looks much worse. The variant that is spreading is the Western one, which results in smaller pimples rather than pustules.

Assuming that is correct, I would ignore a lot of the photos shown in the media.

Oh well if true that's something at least! I'm not particularly concerned about catching it (not that I think it's especially likely at the moment as the consensus I've seen appears to be that it isn't airborne) but I wasn't looking forward to dealing with the results of doing so!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Listening to Radio 2 this afternoon, apparently there are two variants of monkeypox - Central African and Western African. The pictures shown in a lot of the media are of the Central variant that looks much worse. The variant that is spreading is the Western one, which results in smaller pimples rather than pustules.

So in essence it's chickenpox? Not pleasant, but not the end of the world either.

 

[najaB]

So in essence it's chickenpox? Not pleasant, but not the end of the world either.

AFAIK it doesn't go latent and flare up years later like Chickenpox can.

 

[Bletchleyite]

AFAIK it doesn't go latent and flare up years later like Chickenpox can.

Thanks. Though that doesn't make people go out of their way to avoid chickenpox, it's an accepted childhood bug.

 

[westv]

Thanks. Though that doesn't make people go out of their way to avoid chickenpox, it's an accepted childhood bug.

I caught chickenpox in my early 20s via a work colleague who's daughter had it (I had no contact with her).

 

[Peter Mugridge]

The pictures shown in a lot of the media are of the Central variant that looks much worse. The variant that is spreading is the Western one, which results in smaller pimples rather than pustules.

This is all that we need to know, really. The media trying to stir up a panic again.

Combined with people getting themselves tested for anything out of the ordinary at the moment that they might have otherwise ignored...

 

[najaB]

This is all that we need to know, really. The media trying to stir up a panic again.

Or, more simply, they've gone online and done and image search for "monkey pox". Naturally, the majority of image results will be of the more severe variant.

 

[joncombe]

I'm not at all concerned with Monkeypox itself but given what happened with Covid I am worry about the Government reaction (over-reaction) to it. There is already the instruction to isolate (not backed up by law ... but who knows if it might be), whilst the BBC has already started a "Live" page about it and is keeping it on the front page. Given how much they have loved to whip up hysteria with Covid, this does not surprise me at all and a statement from the WHO that it is "containable" but I fear that statement may come with caveats "providing countries implement these measures immediately" type response. Hope I'm wrong.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

BBC actually did a good article on this:

Monkeypox: Time to worry or one to ignore?

We are facing an unusual and unprecedented monkeypox outbreak but how worrying is it?

www.bbc.co.uk

It is transmitted mainly through bodily fluids so there is zero risk of anyone trying to force us to wear masks or keep us 1 or 2 metres apart or make us stay at home again.

That’s a good article and it’s good that they’re eager to reassure people it’s not another COVID; I think I was aware it wasn’t a massive risk to our physical health but I couldn’t help wondering if it would prompt an overreaction from the government who might try and lock us down.

I am not worried about Monkeypox at all, unlike in February 2020 when I was actually quite worried about Covid 19. What does worry me though is what the government response will be, given that lockdowns and social distancing may have become the default way of managing disease outbreaks.

It was exactly this for me

 

[Dunnideer]

It is known that Smallpox vaccines are effective, and in the UK these are being offered to close contacts of confirmed cases. Should the need arise, we know the NHS can quickly scale up vaccine deployment.

As we have an effective vaccine already (much more effective than any of the COVID vaccines), I think that needs to be stepped up and rolled out if it looks like this will get bad, so we avoid any of the last two years being repeated.

Hopefully people are ramping up production of Smallpox vaccine seeing as that appears to confer very good protection against Monkeypox should we need to rollout an immunisation programme.

The smallpox vaccine is definitely not a magic bullet for this. One major issue with the vaccine is that you absolutely cannot have it if you have ever had eczema/atopic dermatitis, as it can cause very severe or even fatal side effects. Also because it uses live virus it can be very dangerous for immunosuppresed people. That rules it out for quite a large percentage of the population.

 

[nw1]

Sorry, inadvertently started another thread having missed this one somehow.

Like others I'm not so worried about the illness itself (as it doesn't seem that dangerous for most) but about reactions of governments to it.

Specifically, I have an extended 2-month overseas holiday (within Europe) scheduled for a month's time, and for personal reasons it's quite important I go. Is it worth moving the departure date forward "just in case" other countries start placing travel bans on the UK?

How likely do people think a travel ban on the UK from other European countries this summer is? My destination is to somewhere which doesn't currently require a negative Covid test or vaccination certificate (in other words it's not one of the harsher countries) if that's of any consequence.

 

[najaB]

How likely do people think a travel ban on the UK from other European countries this summer is? My destination is to somewhere which doesn't require a negative Covid test or vaccination certificate, if that's of any consequence.

I personally think it is low, but non-zero.

 

[ainsworth74]

I personally think it is low, but non-zero.

That's my view as well. Low chance of disruption but not zero. Unless it really has done something like mutate to go airborne (which from my reading there is no indication it has) it seems unlikely it will have the necessary legs to be a serious problem.

 

[Eyersey468]

I am quite concerned, because we are in the same place as we were in February 2020 (give or take) and it feels like a "here we go again" type of situation.

Three-week self-isolation is being recommended for infected people.

I agree

 

[AlterEgo]

Monkeypox isn’t spread like covid. The challenge with covid was threefold: it was highly transmissible by aerosols and it also had a fairly long incubation period, coupled with the potential for asymptomatic transmission.

The WHO say the disease is currently being transmitted primarily through extremely close contact and sex, so the current outbreak in western countries is mostly down to men having unprotected sex (mostly with other men). You can be sure therefore that there will be no lockdown or any attempt to forcibly curb the spread.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

The WHO say the disease is currently being transmitted primarily through extremely close contact and sex, so the current outbreak in western countries is mostly down to men having unprotected sex (mostly with other men).

I also read this, and I do hope that such news does not lead to an increase in distasteful homophobia or “gay-bashing” as a result.

 

[AlterEgo]

I also read this, and I do hope that such news does not lead to an increase in distasteful homophobia or “gay-bashing” as a result.

Of course none of us hope that, but remember the worries at the very outset of covid that there might be anti-Chinese sentiment and it had a significantly negative effect on the public health response.

It is helpful for us to be frank about what is currently causing the latest outbreak, which has a similar fatality rate to covid (but is much much harder to contract, because you need very close contact).

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Of course none of us hope that, but remember the worries at the very outset of covid that there might be anti-Chinese sentiment and it had a significantly negative effect on the public health response.

It is helpful for us to be frank about what is currently causing the latest outbreak, which has a similar fatality rate to covid (but is much much harder to contract, because you need very close contact).

Oh yes I totally agree, and don’t deny in the slightest that the news needs to honestly discuss what is a contributing factor, I’m just stating that I hope the less classy proportion of the public don’t have a similar reaction to LGBT people as the awful anti-Chinese sentiment expressed from COVID, because some of the persecution as a result of that was horrendous.