How contagious is the monkeypox virus really? And do aerosols play a role, as in the corona crisis? Scientists are careful. This is what we know.
The current variant of monkey pox does not only affect (homosexual) men, but can occur in everyone: man, woman, young and old. This is becoming increasingly apparent now that a first female patient and a minor boy have appeared among the 500 or so cases in Belgium. Also in Germany, seven women have already been diagnosed with monkey pox, as well as two teenagers (a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old) and a child of four.
The transmission of the new monkeypox strain has somewhat taken scientists by surprise, because the transmission is different from the original virus, which is typically found in western and central Africa and was thought not to spread easily from person to person, but from animal to animal. man.
Now it turns out that intense direct skin contact between people is how the virus spreads among us. That’s new. The question is whether the virus has mutated or just accidentally ended up in an optimal network, the gay community, which is very connected.
Similarities with covid
However, monkeypox is not a homosexual disease, nor is it a typical sexually transmitted disease, such as chlamydia or syphilis, because it can also be transmitted through other means. You can get it through friction through intense skin contact (rubbing against each other) or exchanging bodily fluids – and that includes sexual contact – which releases the contents of the blisters and is passed on to the mouth, nose or (invisible) skin wounds. So it takes more than just a handshake.
It is not yet clear why the infection mainly occurs between men and less between men and women. It is possible that it is a combination of circumstances and the virus first accidentally ended up in the gay community.
The layperson also knows about the (still ongoing) corona pandemic that viruses can be transmitted through cough and sneeze droplets that are sent out by an infected person and inhaled by another. This is also the case with monkey pox when someone coughs or sneezes with a high fever or a burst blister in the mouth. But transmission by this route is probably a much less efficient route for the monkeypox virus. Scientists are still investigating how often this mode of transmission occurs.
Surface transmission (via a door handle or toilet) is also a possibility. According to a report by the WHO, only about 0.2 percent of recent cases have contracted the virus through contaminated surfaces. The risk is therefore very small, but not zero. Just like with covid, you must first touch a contaminated surface with enough infectious virus particles and then immediately touch your own eyes, nose, mouth or any skin wounds.
In reality, the chances of that happening are very slim. So you don’t have to disinfect every chair you sit on. Reducing (bed) partners is a much more effective measure. Very occasionally, the infection can happen by using the same bed sheets or towels from an infected person for a long time because the virus survives longer on porous materials, allowing it to penetrate into mucous membranes or wounds and cracks in the skin.
Role of aerosols
There is some discussion among scientists about the transmission via floating droplets in the air, such as with corona. The role of aerosols was greatly underestimated at the beginning of the corona crisis, but that view had to be adjusted later. Aerosols even turned out to be the engine of the pandemic. That is why scientists now do not dare to rule out this scenario. They warn that there is a small chance that the virus will also spread through the air.
In a preprint study of the hospital rooms of monkeypox hospitalized patients in the UK, the virus was found to be in the air, especially when the beds were changed. That is a possible indication that the virus is present in aerosols, or in loose skin flakes or dust particles. The virus in the air was also contagious, lab tests showed.
However, this transmission route does not seem to be very effective either. Monkeypox is not nearly as contagious as the coronavirus, which is a respiratory virus.
Possible positive evolution in number of infections
In the meantime, it is possible that monkey pox is already on the decline, both in Belgium and worldwide, according to Boudewijn Catry of health institute Sciensano. To confirm this, further tests have to be performed. ‘The coming weeks will show whether there is a stagnation or a decline.’
Three months after the onset of the monkeypox epidemic, approximately 28,000 cases were registered worldwide in 85 countries. In Belgium, 546 confirmed cases have already been reported. This concerns 304 cases in Flanders (56%), 187 in Brussels (34%) and 55 in Wallonia (10%). The new variant of monkey pox is also less serious. 28 people in Belgium have already been hospitalized, but none of them ended up in an intensive care unit. There are no deaths in our country. Most patients heal spontaneously after three weeks
Those infected with the monkeypox virus still have to remain in strict isolation until the skin lesions have fully healed, which can take up to 21 days.