SOME INCONVENIENT INFO ABOUT MONKEYPOX THEY WOULD RATHER YOU FORGOT

Government lab in Maryland plans to create a hybrid monkeypox strain that is MORE deadly than one currently spreading in US

• NIAID research will see experts swap genes between two monkeypox strains

• They will attempt to make currently dominant clade more lethal and infect mice

• The aim of the project is to spur the development of better drugs for humans

• But it comes amid growing concern about virus manipulation research in labs

A Government laboratory in Maryland plans to make the circulating monkeypox strain more lethal in highly controversial research in mice. The team wants to equip the dominant clade - which mostly causes a rash and flu-like symptoms - with genes from another strain that causes severe disease.

They hope the experiment will reveal how different genes make monkeypox more deadly, and spur the development of better drugs and vaccines for humans.

It comes just a week after http://DailyMail.com revealed a similar experiment involving a hybrid Covid strain was conducted at Boston University. 

The latest monkeypox study is being funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a research arm of National Institutes of Health (NIH).

But the modified virus 'poses an exceptionally high risk' to the public if it accidentally leaks, according to Dr Richard Ebright, a microbiologist at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

The team in Maryland would argue their work does not involve 'enhancing' a pathogen because they are swapping natural mutations rather than creating new ones, meaning the hybrid cannot be more deadly than the existing clades.

But the news will no doubt surprise many Americans that such research continues to go on in the US despite fears similar practices may have started the pandemic." - Cassidy Morrison

Study finds 95% of monkeypox cases transmitted through sexual activity

Ninety-five percent of monkeypox cases have been transmitted through sexual activity, according to the largest study to date, which also noted new clinical signs such as single genital lesions.

The research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday, came as World Health Organization experts debated whether to classify the outbreak as a global health emergency, the highest alarm it can sound.

Led by scientists at Queen Mary University of London, the new paper looked at 528 confirmed infections in 16 countries, between April 27 and June 24, 2022.

“It is important to stress that monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted infection in the traditional sense; it can be acquired through any kind of close physical contact,” said first author John Thornhill, in a statement.

“However, our work suggests that most transmissions so far have been related to sexual activity — mainly, but not exclusively, amongst men who have sex with men,” he added.

“This research study increases our understanding of the ways it is spread and the groups in which it is spreading which will aid rapid identification of new cases and allow us to offer prevention strategies.”

Overall, 98 percent of infected people were gay or bisexual men, 41 percent had HIV and the median age was 38.

Their median number of sex partners in the prior three months was five, and around a third were known to have visited sex-on-site venues such as sex parties or saunas within the previous month.

Although sexual activity was behind most cases, the researchers stressed in a statement that the virus can be spread via any close physical contact, such as respiratory droplets and potentially through clothing and other surfaces.

Many of those infected showed symptoms not previously associated with monkeypox, including single genital lesions and sores on the mouth or anus. 

These are similar to those of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and could lead to misdiagnosis, the authors said.

“Clinical outcomes in this case series were reassuring,” the authors wrote. 

“Most cases were mild and self-limited, and there were no deaths. Although 13 percent of the persons were admitted to a hospital, no serious complications were reported in the majority of those admitted.”

Monkeypox DNA was present in the semen of 29 out of 32 people tested, but it’s still unclear whether this material is capable of transmission.