As reported by the Ministry of Health:

No cases of monkeypox have been detected in Poland so far. Public institutions are monitoring infectious diseases and the epidemiological situation in the country. Recommendations will be issued for healthcare-sector workers concerning the prevention of transmission in healthcare facilities. WHO currently does not recommend introducing travel restrictions.

What is monkeypox?

Monkeypox is a zoonotic infectious disease. Under favorable conditions (close contact, including intimate contact), it can also spread from person to person. It is caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV), which belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus. Cases of monkeypox observed in Europe have been mild or moderate; no deaths caused by the disease have been recorded so far.

Ministry: – According to the scientific information available to date, the infection does not have an asymptomatic course such as that seen in the case of COVID-19.

What is the epidemiological situation?

In previous years, monkeypox caused illness in humans exclusively in African countries where African rodents carrying the MPXV virus occur. Isolated cases were brought outside Africa, but they did not constitute sources of outbreaks. Currently, monkeypox cases in outbreaks involving several dozen people have appeared, among other places, in Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom.

Outside Africa, by May 24, 2022, 131 cases and 106 suspected cases had been confirmed.

The disease is endemic (localized) in 9 African countries. Since 2016, cases of monkeypox have been recorded in Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo and Nigeria. Current data on the epidemiological situation in Europe are available on the ECDC website.

What are the sources of infection and routes of transmission?

  • from animals: direct contact with infected animals through their blood or bodily fluids (mainly squirrels and rabbits, but also infected mice or rats), or as a result of being bitten by an infected animal. This route of MPXV transmission does not currently occur in Europe.
  • from humans
    • : through droplets or contact with the blood and secretions of an infected person during direct contact, through mucous membranes.

What are the initial symptoms of the disease?

  • high fever, above 38.50ºC
  • generalized or localized enlargement of the lymph nodes (unlike chickenpox)
  • headache
  • back pain
  • significant weakness.

What are the later symptoms?

  • After 1–3 days, a rash develops in the patient (in the following order: spots, papules, vesicles, pustules, scabs).
  • The rash usually begins on the face and then spreads to other parts of the body.
  • During the appearance of the rash, the sick person is infectious.
  • The rash persists for 2–4 weeks.
  • Scars left after scabs fall off as a result of the rash are very deep, but they disappear within 1–4 years.

At the same time, on May 23, 2022, WHO indicated in its guidelines for the laboratory diagnosis of monkeypox that the clinical presentation of cases in Europe may differ from that described above. Therefore, when deciding whether MPXV diagnostics are necessary, both the clinical presentation and epidemiological information should be taken into account, assessing the overall likelihood of infection.

Is there a vaccine?

Ministry: – There is no vaccine against monkeypox. The third-generation ImvanexTM vaccine against smallpox, registered in the European Union (in 2013), contains a modified strain of the Ankara vaccinia virus (MVA) and is not registered for use in preventing monkeypox. It is also not available in retail sales.

More information is available on the Ministry of Health website. What do you think? We invite you to discuss.