Basgoz and her colleagues at the hospital tested the patient for chickenpox. He was negative. They did his syphilis test. He was negative.
Doctors treated him with antibiotics and antivirals used for common infections while waiting for his various test results, but his condition responded to those treatments. It didn’t improve.
As the days went by, Basgos noticed that the appearance of the patient’s rash changed. At that moment she knew he wasn’t sick.
Her mind competed by assembling pieces of medical puzzles.
“A combination of things that didn’t improve when he received general treatment, a test for a common infection returned to negative, and some changes in the appearance of the rash, this is a poxvirus. Increased the chances. “She said. It was her moment.
Why the symptoms of the current outbreak look more subtle
Monkeypox “was not initially displayed on the radar screen,” Basgos said of treating the first case in the United States.
As the monkeypox virus spreads, some doctors and public health officials have found that patients present with mild symptoms that can be mistaken for other illnesses. Two factors can help explain why the disease can manifest itself in more subtle ways, Basgoz said.
“Second, so far, many of the reported patients are relatively young and healthy,” Basgoz said. “When an infection is found in a relatively young and healthy person, it is often milder than in older people or people with other medical conditions.”
The CDC states that the risk to the general public remains low, but healthcare providers need to pay attention to patients with rashes or illnesses that are consistent with monkeypox.
“Historically, people with monkey pox have flu-like symptoms such as fever, body aches, and swollen glands, but characteristic rashes occur on multiple parts of the body, often on the face. Before appearing on the arms, hands., Some patients often develop localized rashes around the genitals or anus before experiencing any flu-like symptoms, and some patients do. I don’t have the flu-like symptoms, “CDC director Dr. Rochelle Warrensky said in the news Friday’s briefing.
She added that for some patients, the rash does not always spread beyond the first part to other parts of the body, or it can only appear in some parts of the body.
“Because the lesions themselves can be confused with lesions of herpes, chickenpox, and syphilis, sexually transmitted disease clinics can develop as well as these diseases, so see more of these patients. “There is a possibility,” said Wojewada. “Therefore, I think it is important for both patients and clinicians to provide a complete history of potential exposures so that monkeypox tests can be performed as needed.”
Need to increase monkeypox testing
CDC officials said in Friday news that 45 monkeypox cases identified in the United States so far exist in 15 states and Washington, DC, and the virus does not appear to have spread to “specific regions” of the country. Stated. briefing.
“Currently, in the United States, as reported in Montreal and several other places, areas that appear to be occurring in urban areas have not been identified. Areas that appear to have many areas None. Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, Veterinary and Deputy Director of the CDC’s High-Results Pathogens and Pathology Department, said in a briefing.
According to McKistton, most cases in the United States (more than 75%) still report that they may have been exposed to the virus while traveling abroad. Several other patients have reported contact with known cases of monkeypox, which have been identified by contact follow-up.
However, some patients do not know how they acquired monkeypox. “It may suggest that community infections are occurring at levels below the level that attracts the attention of public health authorities,” McKistton said.
“There are occasional sparse cases where we don’t know how we got monkeypox,” she added. “Perhaps they got it from someone who recently traveled, but they’re not sure. That’s the situation we’re in the US right now. This may change. We’re starting to spread the community. I think we need to make sure we have more tests and be able to catch them when they happen. “
“The high proportion of early cases diagnosed with this outbreak in those identified as gay, bisexual, or other MSM simply reflects the early introduction of monkeypox into interconnected social networks. This finding may also reflect confirmation bias due to strong and established relationships, with some MSMs and strong STI services, and a wide range of infectious diseases, including rare conditions. With knowledgeable clinical providers, “CDC researchers wrote in the report.
“But infections are often not limited to a particular region or population. Close physical contact with an infected person can spread monkeypox, so anyone, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. Monkeypox can be acquired and spread. “
Basgoss of Massachusetts General Hospital wants people to know what the symptoms of monkeypox look like in this outbreak, while understanding that they are at low risk and do not stigmatize the disease. increase.
After all, viruses are around us, trillions of microbes live in our bodies without our knowledge, and viruses outnumber bacteria.
“They are everywhere,” Basgoz said. “Most of them don’t make us sick, but sometimes they get sick, so I really like to put this in context for people.”
Michael Nedelman of CNN contributed to this report.
Source: www.cnn.com
