Gestalt # 99 – Monkeypox is not mild

monotreme 1000
Jun 2, 2022

I see story after story saying that monkeypox is a mild disease. This is exactly the same deliberate lie we heard about SARS-CoV-2. As an antidote to this lie, here is a dose of actual peer-reviewed research:

Of 34 patients with a confirmed case of monkeypox, 5 (15%) were defined as severely ill, and 9 (26%) were hospitalized for >48 h; no patients died. Previous smallpox vaccination was not associated with disease severity or hospitalization. Pediatric patients (age, ⩽18 years) were more likely to be hospitalized in an intensive care unit.

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Five patients were defined as being severely ill, and 9 patients were hospitalized as inpatients. Among the severely ill patients hospitalized as inpatients, one was a 6-year-old girl who underwent intubation and mechanical ventilation for encephalitis, and one was a 10-year girl with tracheal airway compromise secondary to a large retropharyngeal abscess and cervical lymphadenopathy (figure 3) [20, 21]. Both patients were hospitalized in the intensive care unit.

(snip)

Comparison of outcomes for pediatric patients and adult patients revealed that pediatric patients were significantly more likely to be admitted to the intensive care unit, although they were not significantly more likely to develop severe illness. There was no difference in illness severity or inpatient hospitalization in patients with a reported history of smallpox vaccination (table 7). On bivariate analysis, hospitalization for >48 h and presence of dysphagia and hypoxemia were significantly associated with severe disease.

(snip)

In contrast to monkeypox outbreaks in Africa that affected a disproportionate number of children, none of whom had smallpox vaccine-derived immunity, a majority of cases in the United States occurred in adults, nearly one-third of whom had received the smallpox vaccine before 1972. We observed no significant differences in serious clinical conditions or complications between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. However, pediatric patients were hospitalized in intensive care units at significantly higher rates than adults, which may indicate more severe illness or reflect a difference in standard of care. The most critically ill patients in this outbreak were 2 young school-aged children with complications that included encephalopathy and retropharyngeal abscess.

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In Africa, mortality due to monkeypox infection has ranged from 1.5% to 17% and occurs overwhelmingly in children, a regrettable consequence most likely due to inaccessible medical care [30]. One-fifth of pediatric patients in the US outbreak developed serious complications that could have resulted in death if intensive medical intervention was not available. The identification of risk factors and abnormal laboratory findings described in our analysis may help clinicians determine the need for hospitalization in future possible outbreaks, should monkeypox reemerge in the United States [16].

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Monkeypox virus, along with variola virus, is on the select list of biological agents determined to have the potential to pose a severe threat to human health [33]. Recent surveillance and health care preparedness initiatives in the United States have promoted increased awareness of atypical febrile rash syndromes possibly caused by agents of bioterrorism [34, 35].

Clinical Characteristics of Human Monkeypox, and Risk Factors for Severe Disease. Huhn et al. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2005 41:1742-51.

This study was a review of 34 monkeypox cases that occurred in the United States.

Based on this peer-reviewed empirical study, we can expect that 20% of children who are infected with monkeypox will develop life-threatening disease. The difference between mortality rates in Africa and the US likely relate to access to advanced medical care in the US. Without this care, 20% of infected children will likely die.

It is also interesting to note that this study did NOT find that previous vaccination against smallpox provided protection against infection or serious disease. We are being told that if we received the smallpox vaccine decades ago, we are protected against monkeypox. This may also be a lie.