Screening for Monkeypox Infection in Asymptomatic High-Risk-Behaviour Men Having Sex with Men (MSM)

Background: Since the outbreak of monkeypox in formerly non-endemic countries, we have included a screening for monkeypox in our sexually transmitted diseases (STD) routine in patients with high-risk behavior, as it is mainly transmitted through close skin to mucous membrane contact with infected in...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Infectious disease reports 2022-10, Vol.14 (5), p.794-797
Main Authors: Pestel, Julia, Matthews, Hanna, Schmiedel, Stefan, Hüfner, Anja, Jordan, Sabine, Scheiter, Robin Luca, Lütgehetmann, Marc, Nörz, Dominik, Degen, Olaf
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addition polymerization
Anorectal
Asymptomatic
Brief Report
Chlamydia
Condoms
Disease prevention
Disease transmission
Epidemics
Hepatitis
Hepatitis B
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus
Immunization
Infections
Informed consent
monkeypox
Mpox
Outbreaks
Patients
Polymerase chain reaction
Populations
Public health
Review boards
Risk
Risk taking
screening
Sexual behavior
Sexually transmitted diseases
Smallpox
STD
Syphilis
Zoonoses
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background: Since the outbreak of monkeypox in formerly non-endemic countries, we have included a screening for monkeypox in our sexually transmitted diseases (STD) routine in patients with high-risk behavior, as it is mainly transmitted through close skin to mucous membrane contact with infected individuals. Methods: Between 16 June 2022 and 14 July 2022, we screened 53 MSM with high-risk behavior for monkeypox acquisition in an observational prospective cohort trial. We complemented the throat and anal swabs for chlamydia and gonococci with monkeypox using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In addition, all patients participated in a questionnaire survey about their risk behavior and previous STD in their medical history. Results: None of the 53 participants had tested positive for the monkeypox virus. One patient was diagnosed with syphilis and one with an oral and anorectal chlamydia infection. Conclusions: STD screening in high-risk populations is a valuable tool to detect asymptomatic patients for chlamydia, gonococci, HIV, hepatitis B and C and syphilis. Based on our small cohort, monkeypox screening in asymptomatic MSM patients in areas of low prevalence does not seem to be an appropriate approach to deal with the ongoing outbreak. Therefore, we recommend to focus more on vaccinations, targeted nonstigmatizing information and behavior recommendation for risk populations, and to engage further investigations.
ISSN:2036-7449
2036-7430
2036-7449
DOI:10.3390/idr14050081