Now it is Monkeypox! By James Reed
It seems only hours ago, in the blur of putting up articles, writing, putting up more, coffee, a quick nap, then the cycle begins again, that someone, I think Brian, or was it me, was speculating that monkeypox of bird flu could be the next big thing. And whoa, here we are, monkeypox cases are being found in Sydney and Victoria, from people who have returned from Europe. As one in 10 infected people can die, this really could be the next Big Thing, with lockdowns and all the totalitarian trimmings. I note as well that the health authorities are warning homosexual men to be aware of any unusual rashes and lesions, so the virus must be sexually transmissible as well, making the potential for another AIDS crisis; remember the 1980s and the Grim Reaper ads?
“Australia's gay sex scene has been put on high alert after the nation recorded its first two cases of monkeypox which are believed to be sex-related.
Two men from Sydney and Melbourne have both returned from Europe infected with the rare tropical disease.
The Victorian case is known to have been in the UK where there are currently nine cases, which are all among men from the gay and bisexual community.
On Friday, NSW Health's chief medical officer Dr Kerry Chant sent out the urgent warning for gay men to watch out or the symptoms and seek help immediately if worried.
'We're particularly urging men who are gay or bisexual or men who have sex with men to be aware of any unusual rashes or lesions and to contact by phone to sexual health clinic or GP without delay if they have any concerns,' she said.
A Sydney man in his 40s developed a mild illness several days after arriving home and his GP found the telltale monkeypox symptoms of blisters and rashes.
Another case in Victoria has also now been reported in a man in his 30s who had been on a trip to the UK and developed symptoms after his return on May 16.
Urgent testing identified the Sydney man has been infected with a probable case of monkeypox and medics are now conducting follow up tests for final confirmation.
The Australian cases come after new cases were detected in Italy and Sweden, just days after nine cases were found in the UK.
The Italian patient tested positive at a hospital in Rome after returning from the Canary Islands and the Swede was diagnosed in Stockholm.
The latest cases bring the number of countries outside of Africa with confirmed or suspected cases to eight.
Patients with confirmed monkeypox have now also been recorded in the UK, US, Spain and Portugal, while Canada is probing potential cases.
Experts fear the known cases are the tip of the iceberg, with the majority of patients not linked to each other, suggesting it is spreading more widely.
NSW health minister Brad Hazzard said the disease may currently be spreading like wildfire through Europe and the US as a result of the current warm weather 'party season', he said.
'it's party season in Europe and North America, they've come out of COVID and there's a lot of partying going on,' he said.
'this virus is something which particular groups in the community are more likely to have and to convey as a result of the close associations that occur with people during this partying season in Europe.'
The outbreak has been described as 'unusual' by experts because person-to-person transmission of monkeypox was thought to be extremely rare.
NSW Health revealed the Sydney man and a household contact are isolating at home under the supervision of his local GP and state health officials.
One in ten of those infected dies from the rare African-originated disease which leaves victims pockmarked with painful, ugly blisters and rashes over their body.
It's highly infectious between people in close proximity but can only be spread through bodily fluids or very close face-to-face contact in droplets of breath.
In the UK and Spain, the virus outbreak appears to have been confined to gay or bisexual men - but none of the latest cases had a direct connection with Africa.
Until now, it had never been found to be transmitted sexually.
But it was known that it could be passed on through close contact with the likes of body fluids, respiratory droplets and lesions — meaning it was theoretically possible to transmit through sex.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said NSW Health has taken steps to ensure it identifies and reacts to any potential cases, including alerting sexual health clinics.
'NSW Health has issued a clinician alert to GPs and hospitals across the state, said Dr Chant, and warned sexual health services to also be on the lookout for cases.
'We will be speaking with GPs about this issue again today,' Dr Chant said.
'Cases are occasionally reported in non endemic countries in returning travellers or their close contacts, or in owners of imported pets.
'People can contract monkeypox through very close contact with people who are infected with the virus,' Dr Chant said.
'The infection is usually a mild illness and most people recover within a few weeks.'
NSW Health said it will continue to work closely with colleagues throughout Australia to monitor for cases and ensure the best clinical response if any are identified.
Victoria and NSW health officials will be giving a further update on the spread of the disease on Friday afternoon.
There is no vaccine or treatment for monkeypox, but the smallpox vaccine was found to be 85 per cent effective against the disease.
However smallpox vaccine is in short supply across the world after the disease was eradicated globally 40 years ago and smallpox jabs were no longer required.
Pharmaceutical firm Bavarian Nordic plans to release a monkeypox version of a modified smallpox vaccine, but it will not be available before 2023.
The US has placed an initial $170 million order for the prospective long-life freeze-dried vaccine, with an option for another $255million order, for a total of 13 million doses, costing around $30 a dose.”
One wonders if the monkeypox plague gets going, it will be too late for the vaccine anyway. This one has a medieval Black Death feel to it, and will really scare people, who will flee into solitary confinement of their own bat. We will keep our plandemic team on full alert for breaking news. We are now, the monkeypox boys!
Comments