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Monkeypox / Monkey Pox

There was a US outbreak of This thing in 2003, with 70 odd cases in Wisconson (Milwaukee) - stand easy y'all.
 
wolf...Wolf...WOLF!

It's the woolof...
 
Apparently if you have Monkeypox, you should keep your hands off your gerbils.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61608384

Monkeypox patients should avoid any contact with their pets for 21 days, according to new advice from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
So far, 106 people in the UK have been confirmed as infected with the virus.
Gerbils, hamsters and other rodents could be particularly susceptible to the disease and the concern is it could spread in the animal population.
The government said no cases have been detected in pets so far and the risk is still low.
"The worry is the virus could get into domestic animals and essentially ping-pong between them and humans," said Prof Lawrence Young, a virologist at the University of Warwick.
"If you are not careful you might create an animal reservoir for the disease that could result in it spreading back into humans, and we'll be in a loop of infection."
 
The origins of monkeypox come from a laboratory. Colonies of lab reared monkeys were being used for trials of a smallpox vaccine. The were bred as SPF monkeys (specific pathogen free) for use in trials. The first cases of monkeypox were discovered in those monkeys being trialed with a smallpox vaccine. All the monkeys were isolated from each other during the trials.

The monkeypox could only have been caused by the smallpox vaccine.

I keep trying to find the websites where I got that info from. They weren't conspiracy type websites but rather proper science/medical websites. The problem now is that doing a search for anything 'monkeypox' brings up page after page of news related links.
 
The origins of monkeypox come from a laboratory. Colonies of lab reared monkeys were being used for trials of a smallpox vaccine. The were bred as SPF monkeys (specific pathogen free) for use in trials. The first cases of monkeypox were discovered in those monkeys being trialed with a smallpox vaccine. All the monkeys were isolated from each other during the trials. ...

None of these alleged facts are true.

Monkeypox was first identified when shipments of monkeys from Singapore to a Copenhagen lab were observed to present symptoms of a pox-like disease in 1958 - prior to any of the monkeys being used in any trials.

Initial and subsequent investigations (late 1950s through the 1960s) demonstrated these (and other, later) monkeys were infected with a virus that resembled - but was different from - both the variola (smallpox disease) and vaccinia (smallpox vaccine) viruses. The new virus was determined to be closer to variola than vaccinia. Decades later, after more sophisticated genetic testing, it is believed the monkeypox and variola viruses are cousin strains, both descended from cowpox. There is no basis for believing monkeypox represents a derivative from the vaccinia virus - i.e., any smallpox vaccine being used from the late 1950s onward.

As early as the initial investigations it was demonstrated that inoculating monkeys with smallpox vaccine (i.e., vaccinia) prevented the presentation of any visible monkeypox symptoms. This alone rules out the claim the first monkeypox-infected monkeys presented with infections after being involved in smallpox vaccination trials.

The first confirmed human monkeypox infection involved a child in 1970. There's no basis for claiming humans hadn't been infected with monkeypox until that time. Owing to the close similarity between the monkeypox and variola viruses, as well as the limited diagnostic resolution of serological testing of that era, there's a high probability that any earlier monkeypox infections in humans were simply attributed to regular smallpox.

Monkeypox isn't limited to monkeys. Some monkey species don't even present symptoms when inoculated with the monkeypox virus. The most widespread populations of wild species known to exhibit traces of exposure to, and to harbor, the monkeypox virus are rodents rather than monkeys.

See, for example:

Monkeypox Virus (a 1973 summary of everything learned over the preceding 1.5 decades since first discovery)
https://journals.asm.org/doi/epdf/10.1128/br.37.1.1-18.1973

A review of experimental and natural infections of animals with monkeypox virus between 1958 and 2012
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3635111/
 
The most widespread populations of wild species known to exhibit traces of exposure to, and to harbor, the monkeypox virus are rodents rather than monkeys
IIRC the podcast I linked in post 36, the scientist did mention squirrels. Oh yes, now I do remember that she mentioned squirrels because her pronunciation of "squirrel" was quite different than mine.

If squirrels and other rodents are more likely to carry this virus, then the virus may become more prevalent.

Despite many people in North America not realizing it, mice are carriers of Hanta virus and squirrel populations are still monitored for the Black Plague virus. These two rodents alone are prevalent in North America. And with climate change, many diseases can travel to regions in which they were never known.
 
IIRC the podcast I linked in post 36, the scientist did mention squirrels. Oh yes, now I do remember that she mentioned squirrels because her pronunciation of "squirrel" was quite different than mine.

If squirrels and other rodents are more likely to carry this virus, then the virus may become more prevalent.

Despite many people in North America not realizing it, mice are carriers of Hanta virus and squirrel populations are still monitored for the Black Plague virus. These two rodents alone are prevalent in North America. And with climate change, many diseases can travel to regions in which they were never known.

I live in Arizona, and both are endemic here. Hemorrhagic fevers yeah! 40 years ago, I was cutting firewood near Flagstaff. I stepped on a rat nest, got bit by a flea, and my lymph glands swelled up. In my neck, they looked remarkable. My doctor was excited, but it turned out I am allergic to flea spit.

I have talked with tourists at the Grand Canyon who think that the bubonic plague warnings on the information boards are not real. WTF.

Brownmane, has the bubonic plague made it into Canada yet? I have a vague memory that it was found in Wyoming.

I think rodents are a wonderful vector because pathogens and pathogen carriers (like fleas) cross rodent species so easily; dogs and cats eat rodents; and rodents live near people so easily.
 
I live in Arizona, and both are endemic here. Hemorrhagic fevers yeah! 40 years ago, I was cutting firewood near Flagstaff. I stepped on a rat nest, got bit by a flea, and my lymph glands swelled up. In my neck, they looked remarkable. My doctor was excited, but it turned out I am allergic to flea spit.

I have talked with tourists at the Grand Canyon who think that the bubonic plague warnings on the information boards are not real. WTF.

Brownmane, has the bubonic plague made it into Canada yet? I have a vague memory that it was found in Wyoming.

I think rodents are a wonderful vector because pathogens and pathogen carriers (like fleas) cross rodent species so easily; dogs and cats eat rodents; and rodents live near people so easily.
I think the big difference if you were in the UK would be an unexcited doctor telling you to take paracetamol and come back in a couple of weeks if you still had problems (and were still alive)
 
... has the bubonic plague made it into Canada yet? ...

According to this February 2019 edition of a Canadian Ministry of Health compendium:
Plague is also present in Canadian wildlife populations in an area of uncertain size in southern Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, as confirmed by surveys conducted in the 1930s and 1990s. Transmission of plague to humans in Canada is extremely rare. The last reported human case occurred in 1939.
https://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/pro/programs/publichealth/oph_standards/docs/plague_chapter.pdf
 
I think rodents are a wonderful vector because pathogens and pathogen carriers (like fleas) cross rodent species so easily; dogs and cats eat rodents; and rodents live near people so easily.

Yersinia pestis, to the best of our knowledge, was introduced to the western US during the 3rd plague pandemic in the late 19th/early 20th century; it's now found in a variety of rodents. The bacterium is known to persist in soil, so burrows that were inhabited by infected animals can remain as reservoirs for quite a while.
 
Yersinia pestis, to the best of our knowledge, was introduced to the western US during the 3rd plague pandemic in the late 19th/early 20th century; it's now found in a variety of rodents. The bacterium is known to persist in soil, so burrows that were inhabited by infected animals can remain as reservoirs for quite a while.
Yes, this is an amazing and weird story. I attended college in Flagstaff, Arizona, and took some plagues and pestilence courses. Many classmates were from the Navajo and Hopi reservations. They are very realistic about this stuff.

I am not a bug person like you, and so as an enthusiastic amateur I remain in awe of the weirdness of very small things that change our lives, usually in ways I am unaware of, and that use us!
 
I am not a bug person like you, and so as an enthusiastic amateur I remain in awe of the weirdness of very small things that change our lives, usually in ways I am unaware of, and that use us!
I like to misquote Bill Bryson, another enthusiastic amateur - this is the bacteria's world and they just let us live on it. Or as I have been known to refer to them, our bacterial overlords. :D
 
Another CBC article about the reality of how known viruses, (specifically monkeypox) that are common in certain areas of the world are ignored by scientists in other countries. We have to get better at responding to information that is available, regardless of what area of the world is primarily affected, because anyone can travel anywhere within 24 hours. We have been lucky that we only have had one pandemic at one time. And imo our response was poor.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/monkeypox-warnings-ignored-outbreaks-1.6472148
 
The origins of monkeypox come from a laboratory.

No, but they are making samples of it in a little known virological laboratory in a sleepy little town called Wuhan.

(I wish I were joking)

The whole video is fairly interesting, but this starts at the point I'm making:


dude-confused.gif
 
Exhibiting the symptoms from initial contact with the virus can take months...even years, and seeing as it's a xoonotic disease, originally seen in Laboratory animals in the fifties, and recently seen in Africa during the seventies, there's a good chance that it has been brought out of Africa to the rest of the world.

It is spread by droplet, so, mask on?
Oh not again, we had that hassle for 2 years.
Difficult to get most people to listen and behave accordingly as well.
Probably overpopulation does not help either.
 
Bushmeat banned.

The Nigerian government has banned the sale of bushmeat as a precaution to stop the spread of monkeypox.

Six cases have been detected in the country this month bringing to 21 the number of confirmed infections this year, the authorities said.
Experts say it is possible that the virus can be caught by eating meat from an infected animal. But this is not the most common transmission route.

Monkeypox, a mild viral infection, is endemic in Nigeria. It occurs mostly in remote areas, near tropical rainforests. The country has had sporadic cases since an outbreak in 2017. The virus was found mainly in the south of the country but, since 2020, it has spread to central, eastern and northern areas, the World Health Organization says.

Out of the 21 confirmed cases this year, there has been one reported death of a person who had underlying conditions. But earlier this week the health authorities said "there has been no evidence of any new or unusual transmission of the virus, nor changes in its clinical manifestation documented".

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-61676841
 
American CDC admits that a second different strain of monkey pox was undetected until now circulating through the American population.

The CDC also admits it is to early to understand how this second strain will present itself.

Monkey pox cases are slowly rising in the U.S.
 
The World Health Organization says there are 550 monkey pox cases spread throughout 30 countries.

The WHO says this has never been seen with this disease.
 
Oh god is this how the future is panning out - waves of pandemics one after the other? A few non-fatal ones to soften us up and then maybe a killer one down the line. Maybe i will hang on to the masks for a while.
 
Oh god is this how the future is panning out - waves of pandemics one after the other? A few non-fatal ones to soften us up and then maybe a killer one down the line. Maybe i will hang on to the masks for a while.
Yes, that's my approach too. Add plastic gloves to that.
 
Oh god is this how the future is panning out - waves of pandemics one after the other? A few non-fatal ones to soften us up and then maybe a killer one down the line. Maybe i will hang on to the masks for a while.
Makes one wonder if this is all some type of plan - keeping us under control, etc.
 
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