Monkeypox May Have Spread From Person To Person

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> http://www.local6.com/health/2265579/detail.html

> Monkeypox May Have Spread From Person To Person

> Government Recommends Smallpox Vaccine For Some

>

> POSTED: 10:38 a.m. EDT June 12, 2003

> UPDATED: 1:52 p.m. EDT June 12, 2003

>

> For the first time in the United States, monkeypox may have spread from

> person-to-person.

>

> A southeastern Wisconsin health care worker may have contracted

> monkeypox from a human patient, state epidemiologist Jeff Davis said.

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> MONKEYPOX

> Afraid Of Monkeypox?

> Fact Sheet

> Q & A

> CDC Info.

> WHO Info.

> Guidelines For Vets, Pet Owners

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> Previously, U.S. patients with monkeypox contracted the disease from

> infected animals.

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> Davis declined to identify the health care worker or where the worker

> was located.

>

> He said health officials and scientists haven't confirmed the presence

> of the monkeypox virus in the worker, but they suspect it and are still

> testing tissue specimens.

>

> The virus has been shown to spread among humans in Africa. Davis said a

> monkeypox outbreak in the Congo in 1996 and 1997, for example, grew

> primarily through person-to-person transmission.

>

> But experts say human transmission isn't the primary way the virus is

> spread. Usually the virus passes among infected animals, and then from

> the animals to humans who have contact with them.

>

> Davis said in this case, there was no animal exposure -- the only

> contact was with a human.

>

> As of Wednesday afternoon, the Centers for Disease Control and

> Prevention reported 54 suspected cases of the disease in four states --

> nine of them confirmed. About 10 people have been hospitalized.

>

> With more cases of monkeypox being suspected, federal health officials

> are moving more aggressively to prevent it from spreading further.

>

> The government has issued a ban on selling rodents from Africa as pets

> in the United States. The rodents are apparently the source of the

> virus.

>

> Gambian rats and five other types of large African rodents are included

> in the ban because a Gambian rat is believed to have spread the virus to

> prairie dogs, which are actually rodents and are native to the American

> Plains. Some people keep prairie dogs as pets.

>

> The government also issued a ban on the sale or movement of prairie dogs

> between states and within state boundaries.

>

> The CDC recommends smallpox vaccinations for people who have come in

> contact with infected persons or animals. The smallpox vaccine can

> prevent monkeypox up to two weeks after exposure, but it's most

> effective in the first four days.

>

> The CDC said studies have shown that smallpox vaccination is about 85

> percent effective in preventing monkeypox. But the agency expects the

> number of people who will need the vaccine to be modest.

>

> Monkeypox is a virus related to smallpox, but its symptoms are milder.

> In Africa, the mortality rate has shown to be between 1 and 10 percent.

>

>

> " Monkeypox can be a serious illness, and it has not been previously seen

> in humans in this hemisphere. CDC and a team of expert advisors

> carefully weighed the risk of smallpox vaccination against the risks

> posed by exposure to monkeypox infection in arriving at this important

> decision, " said Dr. Julie Gerberding, CDC director.

>

> The agency also issued guidelines for people who own prairie dogs or

> other exotic pets. Under no circumstances should they release their pets

> into the wild. If the pets are ill, owners should contact their state

> health departments for guidance.

>

> " The biggest risk here, what we're trying to avoid is inadvertently

> introducing monkeypox into the natural wildlife system in this country.

> So do not, do not release sick animals out into the wild, " said Dr.

> David Fleming, deputy director for CDC, at a press conference Wednesday.

>

>

> In general, the CDC is recommending euthanasia for animals diagnosed

> with monkeypox.

>

> Previous Stories:

> a.. June 11, 2003: Smallpox Vaccines OK'd For Monkeypox Cases

> b.. June 10, 2003: Officials Trace Midwest Prairie Dog Trail

> c.. June 9, 2003: Monkeypox Virus Spreads Across Upper Midwest

> d.. June 8, 2003: CDC Investigates 19 Cases Of Monkeypox

> e.. June 6, 2003: People Become Ill After Handling Prairie Dogs

> Copyright 2003 by Local6.com. The Associated Press contributed to this

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