Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of Mpox Patients Attending an STD Clinic in Lisbon

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 20; no. 19; p. 6803
• Main Authors: Caldeira, Margarida Brito, Neves, José Miguel, Pestana, Mafalda, Corte-Real, Rita, Borrego, Maria José, Cordeiro, Rita, Machado, Jorge, Pelerito, Ana, Carvalho, Isabel Lopes De, Núncio, Maria Sofia, Fernandes, Cândida
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 22-09-2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Ambulatory Care Facilities; Animals; Demography; Disease Outbreaks; Disease prevention; Epidemics; Epidemiology; HIV; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Infections; Medical screening; Monkeypox; Mpox (monkeypox); Patients; Sexual intercourse; Sexual orientation; Sexually transmitted diseases; Smallpox; STD; Zoonoses; Portugal; outbreak; human-to-human transmission; monkeypox virus; sexually transmissible disease
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20196803

Mpox is a viral disease caused by the monkeypox virus, which marked the year of 2022 with a global outbreak. While previously considered to be a zoonosis of almost exclusive animal-to-human transmission, the current outbreak has been attributed to human-to-human transmission, particularly sexual transmission. As a new sexually transmissible disease, we studied the epidemiological and clinical features, as well as the concomitant occurrence of other sexually transmissible diseases, treatment approach, and outcome of our 291 patients, in the current outbreak. We found a total of 169 concomitant sexually transmissible infections of bacterial and viral origins, corresponding to 107 patients.
was the most common agent, particularly in the anal location. With this work, we emphasize the need for a thorough epidemiological and medical history, as well as a concomitant complete laboratorial screening for other STIs in patients with confirmed or suspected mpox.