Latest news with #TimNicholls
SBS Australia
a day ago
- Health
- SBS Australia
Second case of rare mpox strain discovered in traveller
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts . "The patient has a close family, and that family are isolating at home. He was not contagious on the return journey to Australia from Africa, and those close contacts that he has been in contact including at the emergency ward and other locations are being contact traced right now and identified." That's Queensland's Health Minister Tim Nicholls, confirming a new strain of mpox virus has been detected in a man who's just returned to the south-east of the state from a trip to Africa. He says Mpox is a disease caused by the monkeypox virus. "Mpox is not easily spread. It is only spread or it can only spread through close or intimate contact. It is particularly spread by close sexual contact and particularly for gay men and people engaging with sex is the primary cause of the contagious spread." Dr Geoffrey Playford is the head of infectious diseases at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Queensland. He says the rare Clade 1 strain of mpox has only been seen once before in Australia, also in a returned traveller. "Over the last year and a half in Queensland, we've had 135 cases in mpox clade 2 - this is the first case of clade 1 and the second time in Australia we've had clade 1. The other case was in New South Wales in May." Mr Nicholls says the public should NOT be concerned. "We think that there are 19 community contacts and 40 staff contacts that have been in contact with the patient. At the moment his symptoms are asymptomatic. They are not showing any signs of the clade 1 mpox, but they are isolating. The family involves children in high school, primary school and childcare centres and the high school, primary school and childcare centres either have been or are in the process of being identified." Dr Playford says authorities are not worried either. He says fortunately in this case the clinical presentation is relatively mild and there are no particular concerns for the patient's health. "And all of our efforts at the moment is to identify contacts using national guidelines to undertake quarantine where the very close contacts have been identified, again in line with the national guidelines." The close contacts will be offered a vaccine that is highly effective against mpox -either preventing or making the disease significantly milder and shorter. Mr Nicholls says over a year ago there were some restrictions on the availability of the vaccine. But now, Queensland has ample supplies - and the vaccine is provided free of charge through sexual health clinics and some GPs [[general practitioners]]. The Queensland government is advising anyone who suspects they may have the virus to seek medical advice from their local doctor, sexual health clinic or public health unit.
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Rare mpox strain detected in Australia
Authorities in Australia fear the number of hospital contacts could grow as they trace health staff after a rare strain of mpox was detected in an overseas traveller. Health officials in Queensland believe 19 community contacts and 40 staff at a hospital have been exposed to the man, who recently returned to Australia from Africa. The patient was diagnosed with a rare strain of Clade 1 mpox after he presented to Logan Hospital, south of Brisbane. But he was not contagious during his journey to Australia, health officials say. "Those close contacts that he has been in contact, including at the emergency ward and in other locations, are being contact traced right now and identified at this stage," Health Minister Tim Nicholls said on Sunday. "At the moment his family are asymptomatic, that is, they're not showing any signs of the Clade 1 mpox, but they are isolating." The man's family includes children at high school, primary school and child care centres and those institutions are being identified, Mr Nicholls said. Health officials do not expect the number of community contacts to increase, but the number of hospital contacts could grow. Mpox is a viral infection that typically displays mild symptoms of fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes or fatigue, followed by a skin rash or lesions. "The contagion window we define as being four days before the onset of symptoms, until after the skin lesions have crusted over," Dr Geoffrey Playford from Metro South Hospital Service said. There have been 135 cases of Clade 2 mpox in Queensland over the past year. Only once before has Clade 1 been detected in Australia, after a returning traveller tested positive for the virus in New South Wales in May. The disease does not easily spread between people and mostly occurs through very close or intimate contact with someone infected. Groups at higher risk of infection include sexually active gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men and their partners. People travelling to areas where the Clave 1 variant is circulating - particularly Central Africa and adjacent countries - and who are likely to have sexual contact are recommended to have a vaccine before departing. Health authorities say vaccinations for pre- and post-exposure to the disease are effective and are available for free through sexual health clinics and general practitioners. Two doses of vaccine are needed for optimal protection. The mpox outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organisation in August 2024. It was first detected in Australia in 2022, with the number of cases spiking to more than 1400 in 2024, according to Australia's National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System.
7NEWS
a day ago
- Health
- 7NEWS
Contact tracing ongoing after rare mpox strain detected in Logan
Authorities fear the number of hospital contacts could grow as they trace health staff after a rare strain of mpox was detected in an overseas traveller. Health officials in Queensland believe 19 community contacts and 40 staff at a hospital have been exposed to the man, who recently returned to Australia from Africa. The patient was diagnosed with a rare strain of Clade 1 mpox after he presented to Logan Hospital, south of Brisbane. But he was not contagious during his journey to Australia, health officials say. 'Those close contacts that he has been in contact, including at the emergency ward and in other locations, are being contact traced right now and identified at this stage,' Health Minister Tim Nicholls said on Sunday. 'At the moment his family are asymptomatic, that is, they're not showing any signs of the Clade 1 mpox, but they are isolating.' The man's family includes children at high school, primary school and childcare centres and those institutions are being identified, Nicholls said. Health officials do not expect the number of community contacts to increase, but the number of hospital contacts could grow. Mpox is a viral infection that typically displays mild symptoms of fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes or fatigue, followed by a skin rash or lesions. 'The contagion window we define as being four days before the onset of symptoms, until after the skin lesions have crusted over,' Dr Geoffrey Playford from Metro South Hospital Service said. There have been 135 cases of Clade 2 mpox in Queensland over the past year. Only once before has Clade 1 been detected in Australia, after a returning traveller tested positive for the virus in NSW in May. The disease does not easily spread between people and mostly occurs through very close or intimate contact with someone infected. Groups at higher risk of infection include sexually active gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men and their partners. People travelling to areas where the Clave 1 variant is circulating - particularly Central Africa and adjacent countries - and who are likely to have sexual contact are recommended to have a vaccine before departing. Health authorities say vaccinations for pre- and post-exposure to the disease are effective and are available for free through sexual health clinics and general practitioners. Two doses of vaccine are needed for optimal protection. The Mpox outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organisation in August 2024. It was first detected in Australia in 2022, with the number of cases spiking to more than 1400 in 2024, according to Australia's National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Contact tracing ongoing after rare mpox strain detected
Authorities fear the number of hospital contacts could grow as they trace health staff after a rare strain of mpox was detected in an overseas traveller. Health officials in Queensland believe 19 community contacts and 40 staff at a hospital have been exposed to the man, who recently returned to Australia from Africa. The patient was diagnosed with a rare strain of Clade 1 mpox after he presented to Logan Hospital, south of Brisbane. But he was not contagious during his journey to Australia, health officials say. "Those close contacts that he has been in contact, including at the emergency ward and in other locations, are being contact traced right now and identified at this stage," Health Minister Tim Nicholls said on Sunday. "At the moment his family are asymptomatic, that is, they're not showing any signs of the Clade 1 mpox, but they are isolating." The man's family includes children at high school, primary school and child care centres and those institutions are being identified, Mr Nicholls said. Health officials do not expect the number of community contacts to increase, but the number of hospital contacts could grow. Mpox is a viral infection that typically displays mild symptoms of fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes or fatigue, followed by a skin rash or lesions. "The contagion window we define as being four days before the onset of symptoms, until after the skin lesions have crusted over," Dr Geoffrey Playford from Metro South Hospital Service said. There have been 135 cases of Clade 2 mpox in Queensland over the past year. Only once before has Clade 1 been detected in Australia, after a returning traveller tested positive for the virus in NSW in May. The disease does not easily spread between people and mostly occurs through very close or intimate contact with someone infected. Groups at higher risk of infection include sexually active gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men and their partners. People travelling to areas where the Clave 1 variant is circulating - particularly Central Africa and adjacent countries - and who are likely to have sexual contact are recommended to have a vaccine before departing. Health authorities say vaccinations for pre- and post-exposure to the disease are effective and are available for free through sexual health clinics and general practitioners. Two doses of vaccine are needed for optimal protection. The mpox outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organisation in August 2024. It was first detected in Australia in 2022, with the number of cases spiking to more than 1400 in 2024, according to Australia's National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System.
The Age
a day ago
- Health
- The Age
Almost 60 close contacts identified in Brisbane Mpox outbreak
Almost 60 people identified as close contacts to a confirmed case of Mpox in Brisbane's south have been offered a vaccine and are isolating, as Queensland Health works to trace further potential exposures. Health Minister Tim Nicholls said the infected man had acquired the illness overseas, and had not been contagious on his flight into Australia from Africa. 'We think there are 19 community contacts and 40 staff contacts that have been in contact with the patient,' Nicholls said. 'The patient has a close family, and that family is isolating at home. 'At the moment, his family are asymptomatic – that is, they're not showing any signs of the 'clade I Mpox'.' Nicholls said other close contacts were primarily in the emergency ward at Logan Hospital, where the man had presented with symptoms, but that his family had children of primary and high school age, as well as smaller children in childcare. 'Those high schools, primary schools, and childcare centres either have been or are in the process of being identified,' he said. Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral infection that spreads mainly through very close or intimate contact. The strain detected in Logan Hospital this week is only the second of its kind to be reported in Australia. In May, the first recorded case of Mpox clade I was identified in NSW, in a person who had travelled overseas.
