(ANSA) – ROME, 29 AUG – There is an association between a high viral load of the monkeypox virus and greater severity of the disease. This is demonstrated by a study by the National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani IRCCS in Rome and the IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele – Università Vita Salute San Raffaele in Milan, just published in the Lancet Group’s eBioMedicine journal. This is one of the most important case studies on Mpox, having observed 541 patients out of a total of 1,056 cases reported to date in Italy.
The work, conducted in 15 Italian Infectious Diseases centers belonging to the Icona Network, includes cases of Mpox due to Clade IIb of 2022-2023 and was aimed at studying the factors associated with greater severity and a longer duration of the disease. As one of the two first authors of the study, Valentina Mazzotta of the Inmi Spallanzani, explains, “the main result is that a higher viral load of the Mpox virus in the throat swab was associated with a more severe course. Other factors associated with greater severity are Caucasian ethnicity, an onset with fever, the presence of involvement of the oral cavity, lesions around the anus and lymphadenopathy. Mpox has a longer duration in case of ano-rectal, oro-pharyngeal localization, in case of extensive skin rash and in people with HIV with severe immunodeficiency”. (ANSA).
2024-08-29 18:55:32