How to "manage" monkeypox?, Local cases exceeded 1000 within 3 months

On September 15th, the National Health Commission announced that, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China, monkeypox will be included in the management of Class B infectious diseases from September 20th, 2023, and measures will be taken to prevent and control Class B infectious diseases.

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Since June this year, the number of confirmed cases of domestic monkeypox has increased sharply. According to data released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 106 new confirmed cases of monkeypox reported in mainland China in June, 491 new cases reported in July, and 501 new cases reported in August. Within three months, the cumulative number of local monkeypox cases has exceeded a thousand.

The National Health Commission interpreted that, considering that the monkeypox epidemic will continue to exist in China for a certain period of time, in order to further scientific and standardized monkeypox epidemic prevention and control work, and effectively ensure the safety and health of the people, it has been decided to include monkeypox in the management of Class B infectious diseases.

What are the transmission routes of monkeypox?

In September 2022, China reported its first imported case of monkeypox, and a local monkeypox outbreak began in June 2023. Currently, more than 20 provinces across the country have reported monkeypox cases, leading to new local outbreaks and hidden transmission.

The National Health Commission stated in its interpretation that multiple epidemics have shown that monkeypox has been transmitted from person to person and widely spread to countries and regions outside of Africa, with a mortality rate of about 0.1%.

According to the "Monkeypox Prevention and Control Plan" issued by the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention and the National Health Commission in July, all populations are generally susceptible to the monkeypox virus. Having received smallpox vaccine has a certain degree of cross protection against monkeypox virus.

The above plan states that the monkeypox virus mainly invades the human body through mucous membranes and damaged skin, and is mainly transmitted through direct contact with the diseased skin or mucous membranes of the case. It can also be transmitted through contact with contaminated items, long-term close inhalation of respiratory droplets from the case, contact with respiratory secretions, diseased exudates, blood and other body fluids of infected animals, or infection through bites or scratches from infected animals.

Is there a high risk of large-scale dissemination?

The sudden increase in monkeypox cases has raised concerns about whether it will spread more widely in China. Lu Hongzhou, director of the National Clinical Medical Research Center for infectious diseases and president of the Third People's Hospital of Shenzhen, said in an interview with chinanews. com that he did not believe that there was a factual basis and risk of large-scale transmission among the general population in terms of the current spread of monkeypox among people.

He stated that avoiding contact with monkeypox patients is an effective preventive measure, and developing good lifestyle habits is also a good preventive measure: such as not sharing towels and clothing with others, reducing direct skin contact with others in daily life, etc. "The high-risk group for monkeypox is still men who have sex with men. When fever or rash occur, one should be alert to the possibility of contracting monkeypox."

In the Q&A on the interpretation of the "Monkeypox Prevention and Control Plan" released by the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention in July, it was stated that the main transmission route of monkeypox at present is through sexual contact among men who have sex with men, and men who have sex with men are a key group of people infected with monkeypox. At present, the general population has a lower risk of contracting monkeypox virus, but it is necessary to understand the basic knowledge of monkeypox and take good health protection measures.

How to manage Class B infectious diseases?

According to the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China, the current legally reported infectious diseases in China are divided into three categories: A, B, and C. Previously, monkeypox did not belong to Class A, Class B, or Class C infectious diseases in China.

Chinanews. com noted that novel coronavirus infection, SARS, tuberculosis, dengue fever, rabies, measles, AIDS, etc. are all Class B infectious diseases.

According to the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Law, disease prevention and control institutions shall actively collect, analyze, investigate, and verify information on infectious disease epidemics. When receiving reports of Class A or Class B infectious diseases or discovering outbreaks or epidemics of infectious diseases, the local health administrative department should be immediately reported. The local health administrative department should immediately report to the local people's government, and at the same time report to the higher-level health administrative department and the State Council health administrative department.

At the same time, disease prevention and control institutions should establish or designate specialized departments and personnel responsible for the management of infectious disease epidemic information, and timely verify and analyze epidemic reports.

According to regulations, medical institutions should take necessary treatment and transmission control measures based on the condition of patients with Class B or Class C infectious diseases. Medical institutions must implement disinfection and harmless disposal of places, items, and medical waste contaminated by infectious disease pathogens within their own units in accordance with laws and regulations.