Thread by @miamalan

[Thread] 1. SA saw its 1st confirmed #monkeypox case last week. Will there be more cases? YES. Why? The 1st case doesn’t have a travel history so he (a 30 year old man from Jhb) contracted it from someone in SA who already had it. bit.ly/3QNA7SH

2. How do you get #monkeypox? Through close contact, e.g. hugging, kissing, sex, or contaminated materials, e.g. shared linen or cutlery. It’s much harder to contract monkeypox than #COVID19. The @nicd_sa's Jackie Weyer explains it in this sound clip:

3. What’s the most telling #monkeypox symptom? Blisters on your skin. The blisters don’t have to be all over your body, they can, for instance, just be on your genitals, hands or face. The @nicd_sa's Jackie Weyer explains in this sound clip:

4. What test is used to confirm #monkeypox? A PCR test — the same type of lab test that’s used for #COVID19 (lab technicians obviously look for the monkeypox virus and not #SARSCoV2, but they use the same technique). bit.ly/3QNA7SH

5. Do health workers take swabs to test you? Yes. They take the swabs from the blisters on your skin. (For #COVID19 they take swabs from your nose). bit.ly/3QNA7SH

6. For how long are you infectious with #monkeypox? Until all the blisters on your skin have healed (when new skin has grown over the blisters, they’ve generally healed — it's through contact with the open skin on the blisters that the virus spreads). bit.ly/3QNA7SH

7. Is there a vaccine for #monkeypox? Yes. The smallpox jab provides 85% protection against monkeypox infection. But SA stopped giving the jab in the 1980s, so only people of 42+ in SA have that protection. bit.ly/3QNA7SH

8. How many countries currently have #monkeypox cases? The WHO says there are 3,000+ cases in 47 countries, many of which have never previously reported the disease. But it's not considered a global health public health emergency like #COVID19 and #polio. bit.ly/3xPaMz6

9. Most #monkeypox cases are currently among men who have sex with men. Are they biologically more susceptible to #monkeypox? NO. The only thing that can make you less susceptible is vaccination. bit.ly/3QNA7SH

10. Why are #monkeypox cases mostly among men who have sex with men if they're not biologically more susceptible? It's the group where the 1st cases started. There are strong social networks within the MSM community, so transmission followed that route. nyti.ms/3Nq2H9U