2022–2023 mpox outbreak in israel 2022–2023 mpox outbreak in israel the 2022–2023 mpox outbreak in israel is a part of the ongoing outbreak of human mpox caused by the west african clade of the monkeypox virus. the outbreak was first reported in israel on 20 may 2022 when the health ministry announced a suspected case which was confirmed on 21 may 2022. one month later, on 21 june, the first locally transmitted case was reported. 2022–2023 mpox outbreak in israeldiseasempoxvirus strainmonkeypox virus (west african clade)locationisraelindex caseichilov general hospital, tel avivdate20 may 2022 – ongoing (11 months and 23 days)confirmed cases121suspected cases‡0deaths0government websiteministry of health (israel)‡suspected cases have not been confirmed by laboratory tests as being due to this strain, although some other strains may have been ruled out. currently, israel is the most affected country in asia and the 14th most affected country in the world. israel was also the first in asia to report a case. background these paragraphs are an excerpt from mpox and 2022–2023 mpox outbreak. mpox (pronounced /ˈɛmpɒks/ em-poks, formerly known as monkeypox) is an infectious viral disease that can occur in humans and some other animals. symptoms include a rash that forms blisters and then crusts over, fever, and swollen lymph nodes. the time from exposure to onset of symptoms ranges from five to twenty-one days and symptoms typically last from two to four weeks. there may be mild symptoms, and it may occur without any symptoms being apparent. cases may be severe, especially in children, pregnant women or people with suppressed immune systems. the disease is caused by the monkeypox virus, a zoonotic virus in the genus orthopoxvirus. the variola virus, the causative agent of smallpox, is also in this genus. of the two types (called "clades") in humans, clade ii (formerly west african clade) causes a less severe disease than the central african (congo basin) type. it may spread from infected animals by handling infected meat or via bites or scratches. human-to-human transmission can occur through exposure to infected body fluids or contaminated objects, by small droplets, and possibly through the airborne route. people can spread the virus from the onset of symptoms until all the lesions have scabbed and fallen off; with some evidence of spread for more than a week after lesions have crusted. diagnosis can be confirmed by testing a lesion for the virus's dna. there is no known cure. a study in 1988 found that the smallpox vaccine was around 85% protective in preventing infection in close contacts and in lessening the severity of the disease. a newer smallpox and mpox vaccine based on modified vaccinia ankara has been approved, but with limited availability. other measures include regular hand washing and avoiding sick people and animals. antiviral drugs, cidofovir and tecovirimat, vaccinia immune globulin and the smallpox vaccine may be used during outbreaks. the illness is usually mild and most of those infected will recover within a few weeks without treatment. estimates of the risk of death vary from 1% to 10%, although few deaths as a consequence of mpox have been recorded since 2017. an outbreak of mpox, a viral disease then commonly known as "monkeypox", was confirmed in may 2022. the initial cluster of cases was found in the united kingdom, where the first case was detected in london on 6 may 2022 in a patient with a recent travel history from nigeria (where the disease is endemic). on 16 may, the uk health security agency (ukhsa) confirmed four new cases with no link to travel to a country where mpox is endemic. all four cases appeared to have been infected in london. from 18 may 2022 until may 2023, cases were reported from several countries and regions, predominantly in europe and in the americas but also in asia, in africa, and in oceania. the outbreak marked the first time mpox had spread widely outside central and west africa. on 23 july, the director-general of the world health organization (who), tedros adhanom ghebreyesus, declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (pheic). as of 18 march 2023, there had been a total of 86,516 confirmed cases in over 113 countries.in may 2023, the world health organization declared an end to the global health emergency declared in response to the worldwide outbreak of mpox virus. transmission stages of lesion development. a large portion of those infected were believed to have not recently traveled to areas of africa where mpox is normally found, such as nigeria, the democratic republic of the congo as well as central and western africa. it is believed to be transmitted by close contact with sick people, with extra caution for those individuals with lesions on their skin or genitals, along with their bedding and clothing. the cdc has also stated that individuals should avoid contact and consumption of dead animals such as rats, squirrels, monkeys and apes along with wild game or lotions derived from animals in africa. in addition to more common symptoms, such as fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes, and rashes or lesions, some patients have also experienced proctitis, an inflammation of the rectum lining. cdc has also warned clinicians to not rule out mpox in patients with sexually transmitted infections since there have been reports of co-infections with syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and herpes. history imported case before the outbreak in 2018, an imported case was detected in israel. a 38-year-old man came from rivers state, nigeria in late september. he showed the symptoms of the disease on that month. later on october the patient sought medical attention at shaare-zedek medical center in jerusalem. he was confirmed to be infected with the west african clade of monkeypox virus that month. all of the patient's contacts were traced and followed up but no virus transmission were detected. arrival ichilov general hospital (in the middle) in tel aviv sourasky medical center, where the first case was isolated as the outbreak was spreading in europe in the middle of may 2022, the israeli health ministry reported a suspected mpox case in the country on 20 may. the case was confirmed by testing on 21 may, becoming the first case in israel during the outbreak. the 30-year-old man returned from western europe and contracted the disease from there. the ministry reported that he was in isolation in the ichilov general hospital in tel aviv. spread the ministry of health reported the first case of community transmission on 21 june 2022. timeline mpox cases in israel () deaths confirmed casesmaymayjunjunjuljullast 15 dayslast 15 days datecases (rise)deaths (rise) 2022-05-211(n.a.) 2022-05-221(=) 2022-05-231(=) 2022-05-241(=) 2022-05-251(=) 2022-05-261(=) 2022-05-271(=) 2022-05-282(+1) 2022-05-292(=) 2022-05-302(=) 2022-05-312(=) 2022-06-012(=) 2022-06-022(=) 2022-06-032(=) 2022-06-042(=) 2022-06-052(=) 2022-06-062(=) 2022-06-073(+1) 2022-06-083(=) 2022-06-094(+1) 2022-06-104(=) 2022-06-114(=) 2022-06-124(=) 2022-06-134(=) 2022-06-144(=) 2022-06-155(+1) 2022-06-166(+1) 2022-06-176(=) 2022-06-186(=) 2022-06-196(=) 2022-06-209(+3) 2022-06-2111(+2) 2022-06-2213(+2) 2022-06-2316(+3) 2022-06-2416(=) 2022-06-2516(=) 2022-06-2618(+2) 2022-06-2729(+11) 2022-06-2833(+4) 2022-06-2938(+5) 2022-06-3042(+4) 2022-07-0142(=) 2022-07-0242(=) 2022-07-0350(+8) 2022-07-0452(+2) 2022-07-0555(+3) 2022-07-0655(=) 2022-07-0759(+4) 2022-07-0859(=) 2022-07-0959(=) 2022-07-1061(+2) 2022-07-1166(+5) 2022-07-1273(+7) 2022-07-1380(+7) 2022-07-1488(+8) 2022-07-1590(+2) 2022-07-1690(=) 2022-07-1796(+6) 2022-07-1896(=) 2022-07-19102(+6) 2022-07-20102(=) 2022-07-21105(+3) 2022-07-22105(=) 2022-07-23105(=) 2022-07-24114(+9) 2022-07-25114(=) 2022-07-26121(+7) 2022-07-27121(=) responses