Dr Jay Varma, an epidemiologist at the Weill Cornell Medical School is sounding an alert for those concerned about monkeypox. According to a piece in the Times, Varma revealed that it is becoming difficult to track monkeypox because some cases are going relatively undetected due to where they actually are lingering. Monkeypox is appearing inside of anuses making it often missed by a patient rather than detected early on.
America has recorded 244 monkeypox cases to date, with another 43 spotted this weekend across 25 states and Washington D.C. The World Health Organization maintains that it will not declare a health emergency over the virus as it continues to spread throughout the world.
Writing explicitly in the New York Times, Varma said: ‘Other experts and I fear that monkeypox will exploit this vulnerability [of a lack of testing] and become a permanently entrenched STI in the United States.
‘Initial skin changes in this outbreak often appear innocuous and can occur in locations that are easy to miss, such as inside the anus.
‘Nevertheless, these lesions are highly contagious and can even contaminate surfaces or materials such as towels, which can spread infection to other people.
‘The skin changes can also mimic those of other infections, such as herpes, molluscum or syphilis, so monkeypox can be easily misdiagnosed by someone not expert in evaluating STIs.’
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