Australians are advised to be very vigilant for signs of monkeypox after 40 cases were confirmed to have originated locally, and health officials are working quickly to identify the cause of the outbreak.
Australia reported its first case of monkeypox in May.
Since then, 129 instances have been reported nationwide, including 67 in Victoria (of which 40 were locally dispersed), 50 in New South Wales, 5 in Western Australia, 3 in Queensland, 2 in the Australian Capital Territory, and 2 in South Australia.
Although data from Victoria indicates a concerning new pattern of the virus migrating and spreading in the local population, the bulk of Australia’s cases have been “imported” from travellers coming home from international vacations.
In Victoria, there are now eight patients being treated in hospitals for monkeypox out of a total of 17 active cases.
According to the World Health Organization, the death rate for monkeypox is now between three and six percent but has previously risen as high as eleven percent, or one in 10 persons.
Typically, the disease’s symptoms start to show up two weeks after infection and subside by four weeks.
Australian officials are using a smallpox vaccination called Jynneos in an effort to reduce the pace of transmission.
Since smallpox was abolished, Bavarian Nordic in Denmark has been the sole producer of the specialised vaccine, making supplies of the vaccine limited worldwide.
The historical use of smallpox immunizations is thought to have given older individuals greater resistance against monkeypox.
The majority of instances of monkeypox have been linked to males who engage in heterosexual intercourse, although the virus may spread to anybody in close proximity to a patient.
Skin-to-skin contact, biological fluids (including those from legions), respiratory droplets, and contaminated surfaces all contribute to the transmission of the illness.
Although legions filled with pus and rashes cover a patient’s whole body, monkeypox may also induce flu-like symptoms including fever and enlarged lymph nodes.
103 nations have so far reported 57,527 cases, 96 of which have never before reported the virus.
In late July, when the WHO designated monkeypox as a public health emergency of global concern, Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly classified the illness as an incidence of communicable disease of national importance.
Monkeypox sufferers are advised to remain in isolation until all lesions have healed.
Travelers should check their health after returning from abroad for any signs.
The first documented case of monkeypox in Australia was determined to have originated from an abroad encounter while on vacation in the US.
Sydneysider In a humorous TikTok video, Jack Barlow, posing as former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian holding a press conference à la Covid, delivered the news.
On Tuesday, he told The Project that he wanted to share his experiences in order to clarify some of the stereotypes surrounding the potentially fatal illness that produces skin legions and flu-like symptoms.
Body fluids and skin-to-skin contact are how it spreads, and it has already been identified in 100 countries, including 93 where it had not previously been seen.
In Provincetown, Massachusetts, on a single holiday fling, I really caught it,” he said.
“Any regular 26-year-old would go abroad,” the statement goes, “and it was really done the same day some of my symptoms started.
Despite his relatively minor symptoms, Mr. Barlow chose to spend three weeks in isolation to prevent the transmission of the illness to others.
However, Mr. Harlow made the decision he wanted to strike up a discussion rather than mope about feeling sorry for himself.
I performed a morning presser while disguised as Gladys and came out on TikTok, he said.
I consider the options: “I could have felt bad about myself or I could have done something.”
“I’ve never needed a reason to be in costume as Gladys.”
A “handsome, ginger homosexual guy who returned from the United States” is recognised as the latest monkeypox case announced by Mr. Harlow in his video.
In the video, Mr. Harlow stated, “I would want to further reveal that the positive case was me and as a consequence, it aches my heart to tell it, I will have to apply a rigorous 21-day lockdown.”
The actuality of monkeypox, according to Mr. Harlow, is far more serious than what he implied in his film.
You feel a tremendous amount of anxiousness, he continued.
I had just returned from the US and had met several of my pals. What if I had unintentionally transmitted it to them?
Aside from being happy to have sparked important conversation on monkeypox, he said, sharing his experience in public hasn’t been simple.
He said, “I still believe I’m the first Australian to come out publicly about it, and it hasn’t done wonders for my love life.”
“I hope we can eliminate the stigma so that people may speak about it.”