Monkeypox: Report finds infection could cause heart damage
As the number of global cases of the current monkeypox outbreak exceeds 50,000, a new international study has revealed that the virus has the potential to cause heart damage in some patients.
Published in the Journals of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), the study found that a 31-year-old man with confirmed monkeypox infection developed acute myocarditis days after showing signs of symptoms.
Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle, which the study found was associated with infections of smallpox "a genetically related but more aggressive virus" in the past.
The study found that the patient presented to the health clinic with a history of symptoms for five days, including malaise, myalgia, fever, and multiple swollen lesions on the face, hands and genitalia.
The CDC's 2022 global monkeypox map shows that 100 countries have reported a total of 53,027 confirmed cases, of which 93 are described as not endemic to the virus.
More discoveriesAfter a PCR swab sample of a skin lesion was taken, the study confirmed that the patient had a positive monkeypox infection.
The patient reportedly returned to the ER three days later, reporting chest tightness radiating to his left arm and “was admitted to an intensive care unit under airway isolation, with clinical suspicion of acute myocarditis.”
p>Title; “Acute myocarditis – a new manifestation of monkeypox infection? the study also highlighted cardiac involvement as a potential complication associated with monkeypox infection.
“Our patient presented with acute myocarditis temporarily linked to current infection with monkeypox, a virus closely related to others that already have an established direct or indirect association with heart tissue injury,” the report states.
He added that more research is needed to identify the relationship between monkeypox and heart damage.
In June 2022, PREMIUM TIMES reported that a similar report published by The Lancet Medical Journal indicated that monkeypox infection can cause blindness.
About MonkeypoxAccording to the WHO, the Monkeypox virus was first discovered in laboratory monkeys - hence its name - at a research center in Copenhagen in 1958.
Human monkeypox was first identified 12 years later in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo in a nine-month-old boy in an area where smallpox had been eliminated in 1968.
Since 1970, human cases of Monkeypox have been reported in 11 African countries: Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone and Sudan from the South.
In 2003, the first outbreak of Monkeypox outside of Africa occurred in the United States of America and was linked to contact with infected prairie dogs.
The current monkeypox outbreak that began in May 2022 has continued to spread in non-endemic countries.
Support the integrity and credibility journalism of PREMIUM TIMES Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can guarantee the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy and a transparent government. For free and continued access to the best investigative journalism in the country, we ask that you consider providing modest support to this noble endeavour. By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you help sustain relevant journalism and keep it free and accessible to everyone.Donate
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As the number of global cases of the current monkeypox outbreak exceeds 50,000, a new international study has revealed that the virus has the potential to cause heart damage in some patients.
Published in the Journals of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), the study found that a 31-year-old man with confirmed monkeypox infection developed acute myocarditis days after showing signs of symptoms.
Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle, which the study found was associated with infections of smallpox "a genetically related but more aggressive virus" in the past.
The study found that the patient presented to the health clinic with a history of symptoms for five days, including malaise, myalgia, fever, and multiple swollen lesions on the face, hands and genitalia.
The CDC's 2022 global monkeypox map shows that 100 countries have reported a total of 53,027 confirmed cases, of which 93 are described as not endemic to the virus.
More discoveriesAfter a PCR swab sample of a skin lesion was taken, the study confirmed that the patient had a positive monkeypox infection.
The patient reportedly returned to the ER three days later, reporting chest tightness radiating to his left arm and “was admitted to an intensive care unit under airway isolation, with clinical suspicion of acute myocarditis.”
p>Title; “Acute myocarditis – a new manifestation of monkeypox infection? the study also highlighted cardiac involvement as a potential complication associated with monkeypox infection.
“Our patient presented with acute myocarditis temporarily linked to current infection with monkeypox, a virus closely related to others that already have an established direct or indirect association with heart tissue injury,” the report states.
He added that more research is needed to identify the relationship between monkeypox and heart damage.
In June 2022, PREMIUM TIMES reported that a similar report published by The Lancet Medical Journal indicated that monkeypox infection can cause blindness.
About MonkeypoxAccording to the WHO, the Monkeypox virus was first discovered in laboratory monkeys - hence its name - at a research center in Copenhagen in 1958.
Human monkeypox was first identified 12 years later in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo in a nine-month-old boy in an area where smallpox had been eliminated in 1968.
Since 1970, human cases of Monkeypox have been reported in 11 African countries: Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone and Sudan from the South.
In 2003, the first outbreak of Monkeypox outside of Africa occurred in the United States of America and was linked to contact with infected prairie dogs.
The current monkeypox outbreak that began in May 2022 has continued to spread in non-endemic countries.
Support the integrity and credibility journalism of PREMIUM TIMES Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can guarantee the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy and a transparent government. For free and continued access to the best investigative journalism in the country, we ask that you consider providing modest support to this noble endeavour. By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you help sustain relevant journalism and keep it free and accessible to everyone.Donate
[embedded content]TEXT ANNOUNCEMENT: Call Willie - +2348098788999
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