Protections needed to stop monkeypox?

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With news today that 57 cases of money pox have been discovered in the U.K., should we be putting some protections/mitigations in place to slow the spread and make sure the NHS can cope?

I don’t think lockdown would be appropriate at this stage but should the government be implementing things like mask mandates, social distancing, the rule of 6 and bans on indoor socialising and large events?

Surely we’ve learned from covid that it’s important to act early to prevent the need for more restrictions later?

Can we stop monkeying around.

🙈🙉🙊

Jesus wept.

No it’s not an STD. I didn’t fear covid, but I do fear a disfiguring disease that is spread by coughing and sneezing!

@MinorWomensWhiplash1 it’s not an STD.

Honestly at least recognise this fact before commenting. It’s a mild but very disfiguring disease that you can catch from someone coughing or sneezing.

Think I prefer money pox.

There's no politician that could put us in a lockdown or introduce restrictions again now the public know they didn't listen and broke the rules.

The public also realise the cost of lockdown now and won't tolerate it again, people are dying before they can get seen by doctors due to backlogs in the NHS and mental health issues are at an all time high.

The most dangerous narrative at the moment is that monkey pox is an STI and only transmitting between gay people.
It is not an STI, anyone can catch it and there is concerns that if left unchecked that it will become endemic in the UK and europe (places that havent had community spread of this prior.

Monkey Pox is spread by close contact this can be via touch but also through coughs and sneezes. So while you could contract via sexual contact you could contract at a meeting by shaking hands or if someone sneezes near you in Asda.

It is nasty illness and often leaves the skin disfigured, some people become very ill but the good news is It isn't as transmissible as Covid so the individual risk of contracting it is less than covid, but does have a longer incubation period. However, virus can mutate and become more transmissible. Small pox vaccine can offer some protection but this isnt part of out vaccine programme anymore.

I am battoning down the hatches - No
I am watching to see what happens - yes
Do i hope for restrictions - No - but i do hope that if the scientists decide mitigations are needed that these will be implemented and not ignored because the Politicians can follow their own advice during covid.

This.

How the fuck did we get to a position where the government controlling peoples lives to this extent is not just accepted, but called for, and considered nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

This must be a joke.

It's actually heartening to see that 92% think the OP's proposals are ridiculous.

To the 8% who don't - you are free to wear a mask, socially distance, not attend large gatherings or socialise indoors. Nobody is stopping you. But don't expect the rest of us to follow suit.

That said though I think we are in the UK (and Europe) ill equipped to deal with outbreaks of such things because we dont have them.

This should be containable if we brought in measures to contain such an outbreak to bring down numbers (did very well for example with Ebola).

What we did for COVID was unique (and arguably didnt work) but proper infection controls, isolations for close contacts and reporting should be done as standard

@0pheIiaBalls Are those 92% thinking they won’t get it or hoping if that they do they somehow will escape being disfigured?

Solution

@Suzi888

Or maybe they’re just thinking what the OP is suggesting is totally disproportionate to the current situation and would do infinitely more harm than good. Monkey pox is not COVID but we do know what lockdowns and “light touch restrictions” do to the economy, mental health etc.

This isn't an attempt at scare mongering just a general thought.

As I've said, I don't see this spreading to an extent where our government impose any restrictions to our lives (apart from isolating if you have it)

But with the UK having more cases than other countries of Europe, I can perhaps see other countries imposing some temporary travel restrictions to the UK. Hopefully not, and still unlikely. But out of all the restrictions I see this being most probable.

Get a grip

The most dangerous narrative at the moment is that monkey pox is an STI and only transmitting between gay people.

I've not heard anyone saying this and can't imagine anyone would think it was true, after all a virus does not care about anyone's sexual orientation.

What I have heard though is that the spread at the moment in the UK is largely in the gay, male community. If I was a gay man and maybe fond of casual sex, or had friends who were I'd want to be aware Monkey Pox was circulating in my community. I think this needs to be made clear in by the press who I think have been disappointingly vague about who is currently catching and spreading Monkey Pox. I understand they don't want to be seen pointing the finger of blame and I wouldn't want that either but transparency is really important when trying to get a public health message across otherwise it misses it's intended audience. See also Covid (Press: were all going to die, no one is safe vs reality 95% deaths in >65 year olds)

Fun fact - Monkey Pox has nothing to do with monkeys and instead circulates among rodents like rats and mice so could be more accurately called rat pox.

They're probably thinking that such restrictions for a known disease which is mild and for which there are treatments (unlike Covid, in the beginning) are draconian and disproportionate.

Lots of known illnesses disfigure. We don't threaten livelihoods, cause a MH catastrophe and potentially put childrens' education on hold for them.

Ps I'm with the majority here OP, definitely no restrictions, just good, targeted public health messaging.

*mild for most

I know it’s mild. But it’s going to be disfiguring- that’s a certainty.

I didn’t fear covid, but as a mother I fear monkey pox. I don’t think we should lockdown, but I 100% want a bloody vaccine and I want it now.

I‘m seriously astounded people don’t care about the level of scarring that children and adults will get if they catch it. Chicken pox can be bad, but not usually that bad. MP is next level!

53 cases

out of a population of 65million

In fact it’s not even in the news today. People really need to gain real perspective over this.

Someone on one of the other panic threads very helpfully pointed out how dangerous monkeypox is by showing information about how between 1970 and 1984 the democratic republic of Congo had 247 cases of monkeypox, and the deaths were all among children.

So that was 17 cases a year, in a country with a then population of 20 million people, 50 years ago, when treatments were nowhere near what they are now.

And that was the best she could come up with.

Even a figure of 10% is negligeable if you only end up with 100 cases.

If people want to lock themselves away every time there’s an illness mentioned in the news then crack on. But really, do you want to live your life so afraid of dying that you’re not actually living?

I‘m seriously astounded people don’t care about the level of scarring that children and adults will get if they catch it. Chicken pox can be bad, but not usually that bad. MP is next level!
Well, maybe if we start getting thousands of cases a day or even a week we can start thinking about it.

But as things currently stand 53 cases hardly even warrants a mention.

Eh?
Errrr NO!

Is it not true then?
That the WHO official said it was spread by sex at 2 raves in Spain and Belgium. Homosexual men who had said they'd had a number of sexual partners that week.