Breaking news: Monkeypox detected in Hungary

A 38-year-old man has been diagnosed with monkeypox in Hungary, the chief medical officer said on Tuesday.

The man’s samples were delivered to the National Public Health Centre on Monday, and the authorities ran the necessary tests on Tuesday, Cecília Müller said. The possible circumstances of the infection are being investigated, she said.

Monkeypox is a zoonosis that spreads from human to human with close contact, and in rare cases via objects such as bedlinen and towels, and occasionally through sneezing and coughing, Müller said.

Symptoms include feeling unwell, head and muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes and later pustules on the hands and the body. The illness normally lasts 2-4 weeks, she said.

Patients have to be isolated for that period, she said.

Smallpox vaccines have been shown to protect against monkeypox if administered within four days after close contact with an infected person, she said.

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The national medical officer also said that

in general, monkeypox patients recover on their own within two weeks, without any therapy.

However, he added, it is important to be cautious, to monitor cases, to diagnose early and to consult a doctor if there is any suspicion.

She also said that

information on monkeypox, procedures and epidemiological measures had already been sent to health care providers.

As regards the level of protection against monkeypox provided by vaccines administered against smallpox before the late 1970s, Müller said it was not possible to determine the exact level of protection.

There are professional opinions that protection has passed, and there are also opinions that, because we have not encountered the smallpox virus, we do not know whether the “memory cells” still remember the pathogens. “There is no exact answer to this question, as life has not produced this situation,” she said.