As of September 12, 2022, 3,833 cases of monkeypox have been identified in France. If the peak has passed and the number of cases now seems to be falling, new data are gradually arriving on this infection, the first cases of which arrived in France in May. According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Emergency Response Team, the Monkeypox virus could cause neurological complications including brain inflammation.
US health authorities have identified two cases of encephalomyelitis – a brief but widespread attack of inflammation of the brain and spinal cord – in two previously healthy young men. Symptoms that occur between 5 and 9 days after onset of Monkeypox.
The first patient – residing in Colorado – aged in his 30s, initially presented with symptoms including fever, chills, fatigue and a rash unique to monkeypox. Nine days after testing positive, he experienced progressive numbness in his upper and lower limbs on the left side of his body, along with urinary retention and a prolonged erection.
The other patient, a resident of Washington DC, had a fever, muscle aches and a rash before also testing positive for Monkeypox. Five days later, he was experiencing difficulty controlling his bowel movements and bladder, and experienced progressive weakness in both legs. During his hospitalization, his condition initially worsened, with an altered mental state and reduced alertness.
2% of patients affected by encephalitis
In parallel, a meta-analysis published on September 8 in the journal eClinicalMedicine, confirms that a Monkeypox infection could indeed affect the brains of infected people. “Neurological complications have already been seen in people with smallpox, which is part of the same family of viruses as monkeypox, the poxviruses“, indicated Dr. Jonathan Rogers to Science and Future.
The University College London (UCL) team reviewed 19 clinical trials on monkeypox. In total, data from 1,512 patients from the United States, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo and Great Britain were analyzed. Approximately 2.7% of patients had at least one epileptic seizure and 2% of them had encephalitis, which can cause long-term sequelae. 2.4% of the patients even suffered from a state of confusion.
“In a small proportion of patients, the virus seems to have spread to the brain. We don’t yet know exactly how. Either directly, by infiltrating brain tissue, or indirectly through an immune reaction“, ends the researcher.
Sources:
- Two Cases of Monkeypox-Associated Encephalomyelitis — Colorado and the District of Columbia, July–August 2022, Centers for Disease Control and PreventionSeptember 13, 2022
- Neurological and psychiatric presentations associated with human monkeypox virus infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis, eClinicalMedicineSeptember 8, 2022
- Monkeypox: monkey pox could affect the brain, Science and FutureSeptember 14, 2022
