Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Smallpox Drug, New Test Kits Could Help Curb Monkeypox Outbreak
Bloomberg: Monkeypox Latest: Roche Develops Tests To Help Scientists Track Cases
Roche Holding AG has developed three PCR test kits to help scientists trace the monkeypox virus, adding another diagnostic tool as public health authorities seek to contain the outbreak. One of the kits screens for monkeypox only, while two of them can detect other orthopoxviruses, a genus of viruses that includes smallpox as well as monkeypox. The tests will aid in tracing spread and will be available in most countries, Roche said in a statement on Wednesday. (Kresge, 5/25)
CIDRAP: Antiviral Drug May Limit Monkeypox Symptom Duration, Infectiousness
A study on the use of antivirals in seven monkeypox patients in the United Kingdom suggests that the smallpox drug tecovirimat could shorten symptoms and contagiousness. ... The authors cautioned that the sample size was very small but said the need for monkeypox treatments is urgent. (Van Beusekom, 5/25)
The Wall Street Journal: Scientists, Mystified By Monkeypox Outbreak, Are Sequencing Genes To Learn About Origin
Disease detectives are uncovering clues to the origins of a monkeypox outbreak that has sickened more than 200 people, including the possibility that the cases lead back to a single infection. Researchers in countries including Portugal, Germany, Belgium and the U.S. have sequenced samples from confirmed cases and shared their findings online. Researchers from Portugal’s National Institute of Health said in a post on a virology research-sharing forum that similarities between the viral genomes from 10 cases detected there and one from a patient in the U.S. appear to suggest that the outbreak had a single origin. Philippe Selhorst, a medical virologist at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, said that a case sequenced there, who had recently travelled from Lisbon, was genetically linked to the Portugal cases. (Roland and Butini, 5/25)
Monkeypox continues to spread —
The Washington Post: CDC Monkeypox Warning Urges ‘Enhanced Precautions’ For Travel
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a monkeypox alert to travelers after cases were reported in North America, Europe and Australia. The Level 2 alert urged people traveling to “Practice Enhanced Precautions,” though the agency said the risk is low for the general public. Confirmed cases of the rare disease have been found in countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, England, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Israel. (Diller, 5/25)
Salt Lake Tribune: Monkeypox In Utah: CDC Confirms 2 Cases In Salt Lake County
Two adults in the same Salt Lake County household were confirmed Wednesday to have recently contracted monkeypox. Salt Lake County Health Department officials had initially announced the two “probable” cases early Monday, based on preliminary testing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has since confirmed the suspected diagnoses. The two infected individuals traveled to an area in Europe earlier this month that is “currently experiencing monkeypox cases” and became symptomatic afterward, county health officials advised. (5/26)
Stat: Experts: Warning Signs Ahead Of Monkeypox Outbreak Went Unheeded
Monkeypox appears to have exploded out of nowhere in the past two weeks, spreading across Europe, the Americas, and other regions. But warning signs appear to have gone unheeded. An unusual and long-running outbreak in Nigeria should have served as notice that it was only a matter of time before this orthopoxvirus pushed its way to the center of the infectious diseases stage, experts say. (Branswell, 5/26)
Also —
CNBC: Covid And Monkeypox: CEPI Chief Outlines The Disease Differences
The sudden emergence of monkeypox in several countries around the world represents a concerning outbreak, the head of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations told CNBC on Thursday, but the virus does not represent the same kind of global threat as Covid-19. His comments come as international health authorities investigate the atypical spread of monkeypox, a rare viral disease typically confined to remote parts of Central and West Africa. “This is the first time that we have gathered again in Davos since the 2020 meeting and we find ourselves facing another dangerous disease threat,” CEPI CEO Richard Hatchett told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. (Meredith, 5/26)
