There are three main differences between the two diseases, said Pietro Vernazza in a newspaper interview. Initially, monkeypox would not be transmitted if the infected person did not yet have symptoms such as smallpox blisters and pustules, Vernazza said in an interview with the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung” published on Friday. Infected people know that they are contagious.
Immunity after healing
Secondly, people with monkeypox are not contagious for long. If the pustules have healed, the person is immune. The situation is different with the HI viruses that cause AIDS: Visible symptoms usually only appear years after infection, but those infected are contagious before that.
Thirdly, according to Vernazza, according to the current state of knowledge, monkey pcken viruses can hardly be transmitted via blood. “Close physical contact is required for the transmission of monkeypox viruses, it is currently almost always through sexual contact,” said the infectiologist.
According to Vernazza, isolation can help get the disease under control. Anyone who is infected should prevent the areas on the body affected by pustules and blisters from coming into contact with other people. Anyone who knows about an infection will temporarily reduce the number of close sexual contacts.
stigmatization counterproductive
The monkeypox cases reported in Switzerland to date have almost exclusively affected men who have had sexual contact with other men. According to Vernazza, impartial, factual and, above all, motivating information for these people is important. Stigmatization and coercive measures are counterproductive.
Vernazza expressed his conviction that the outbreak of monkeypox in Switzerland will subside again this year. Outbreaks can happen again and again, but those who are most affected are now learning to deal with the disease and adapt their behavior.
Vaccination against monkeypox has not yet been approved in Switzerland. Vernazza does not want to “rush anything” with the vaccination, as he said. Before a vaccination is used on a large scale, he wants to see more data on the safety of the vaccine currently available.
Zurich infectiologist Jan Fehr has a different opinion, he said on Friday on Swiss radio SRF. It is time to shift up a gear so that the vaccine is available quickly. Otherwise you risk spreading the disease. Vaccination is also recommended for the Swiss AIDS Federation.
So far, around 260 laboratory-confirmed infections have been counted in Switzerland, as the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) writes on its website. Last Saturday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an international health emergency because of monkeypox.
Pietro Vernazza is the former chief physician of the clinic for infectious diseases and hospital hygiene at the St. Gallen Cantonal Hospital. He retired at the end of August 2021.