Two cases of monkeypox have been recorded in the Moscow region. First, a man was hospitalized with a sore throat, runny nose, and rash, and laboratory testing confirmed the diagnosis. A second case was then confirmed. Rospotrebnadzor said an epidemiological investigation had been carried out, all contacts had been identified, and they were placed under medical observation and isolation.
Monkeypox is a zoonotic infection and a close relative of smallpox, but it spreads differently. Its main natural reservoir is in West and Central Africa, and small rodents are considered the carriers. Humans can become infected through bites, scratches, or contaminated food. Human-to-human transmission is rare and usually linked to contact with biological fluids; airborne spread requires very close and prolonged interaction.
The disease usually begins with a high fever, swollen lymph nodes, a runny nose, and a sore throat, followed by a characteristic rash. It lasts about a month and most often ends in recovery.
The first human case was registered in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The infection was later regularly detected in Africa, and in 2003 an outbreak occurred in the United States, where investigators linked infections to pet prairie dogs that had been kept with animals imported from Africa. In 2022, cases were also reported in Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, mostly among men who have sex with men.
“So far, there are no grounds to speak of an epidemic,” an infectious disease specialist who asked not to be named told Novaya-Europe.
According to the specialist, Russia has no natural reservoirs of the infection, so these are most likely imported cases. Among the possible scenarios, he named travel to Africa with animal contact, sexual contact with an infected person, or infection through imported animals. At the same time, the patients in the Moscow region said they had not traveled abroad recently and had no such contacts, so the investigation is continuing. The expert also noted that the smallpox vaccine offers partial protection against this infection as well, but there are currently no grounds for mass vaccination.