Monkeypox is a zoonotic illness, i.e. it can be sent in between animals and people via direct or indirect contacts. Following the eradication of smallpox and completion of universal smallpox vaccination, monkeypox is presently the most common orthopoxvirus infection in people.
Zoonotic transmission (from animals to humans), monkeypox infection infections have been reported after person-to-person transmission.
German scientists discovered viral DNA in monkeypox clients spaces, however caution that surface contamination with virus DNA or feasible infection does not show that infection can occur after contact with the surface areas.
During the currently progressing outbreak of monkeypox cases outside of known endemic areas, transmission is mainly driven by close physical contact with symptomatic individuals. While viral transmission between human beings has been described previously, data on ecological contamination of surface areas is very restricted.
Environmental sampling in patient spaces
In a new research study, Nörz et al. swabbed surface areas in the surrounding and instant rooms of two hospitalized monkeypox clients in Germany. The clients seclusion rooms were separated from the ward corridor by waiting rooms, where health center staff put their individual protective equipment on and off (doffing and wearing).
Contamination with as much as 100,000 viral copies/cm2 on inanimate surface areas was estimated by PCR and the virus was successfully isolated from surfaces with more than 1,000,000 copies.
According to the authors, all the surface areas that the 2 patients had touched directly revealed viral contamination, with the highest loads discovered in both bathrooms (e.g. lever, washbasin, toilet seats). Fabrics such as towels, t-shirts, or pillowcases that the clients utilized frequently likewise showed viral contamination.
Viral contamination does not equal contagious virus
The authors highlight that there currently are no definite data on what dose of virus leads to infection with monkeypox in humans. Presumptions are that it requires a substantially higher dosage to activate infection than others such as the variola infection (smallpox infection).
Nörz et al. thus tension that “despite high contamination with as much as 105 cp/cm2 as well as the effective recovery of monkeypox virus from samples with an overall of > 106 copies, our findings do not prove that infection can occur from contact with these surface areas.” Additionally, discovering viral DNA by PCR “can not be related with infectious infection.”
Prevention of virus spread from symptomatic clients ought to be separately adjusted. Based upon their findings, the authors conclude that “regular disinfection of frequent hand and skin contact points throughout the care procedures additional to routine space cleaning and surface area disinfection utilizing items with at least virucidal activity versus enveloped viruses can reduce infectious infection on surfaces and consequently threat of nosocomial transmission.”
Reference: “Evidence of surface contamination in medical facility spaces inhabited by clients infected with monkeypox, Germany, June 2022 separator commenting unavailable” by Dominik Nörz, Susanne Pfefferle, Thomas T. Brehm, Gefion Franke, Ilka Grewe, Birte Knobling, Martin Aepfelbacher, Samuel Huber, Eva M. Klupp, Sabine Jordan, Marylyn M. Addo, Julian Schulze zur Wiesch, Stefan Schmiedel, Marc Lütgehetmann and Johannes K. Knobloch, 30 June 2022, Eurosurveillance.DOI: 10.2807/ 1560-7917. ES.2022.27.26.2200477.