Mpox Virus: Control of In-Hospital Occupational Transmission Experience from a Tertiary Level Hospital in Milan, Italy

Mpox has caused a global outbreak since May 2022, particularly affecting people belonging to key populations, but cases among healthcare providers have been reported. The aim of this work is to present the experience of the Infectious Diseases Unit of San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Life (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 13; no. 8; p. 1705
Main Authors: Raccagni, Angelo Roberto, Gianotti, Nicola, Moro, Matteo, Mileto, Davide, Gordo Perez, Victoria, Castagna, Antonella, Nozza, Silvia
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.08.2023
MDPI
Subjects:
Antibodies
Blood
Body fluids
Brief Report
Control
Control equipment
Disease control
Disease prevention
Disease transmission
Epidemics
Health care
Hospitals
Human monkeypox
Immunization
Infections
Infectious diseases
Italy
Medical laboratories
Medical personnel
Medical technology
monkeypox
Mpox
Nurses
occupational
Occupational diseases
Occupational exposure
Outbreaks
Pandemics
Pathogens
Personal protective equipment
Physicians
prevention
Protective equipment
Risk factors
Safety and security measures
Sexually transmitted diseases
Signs and symptoms
STD
transmission
Urine
Virology
virus
Italy
Milan Italy
ISSN:2075-1729, 2075-1729
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Summary:Mpox has caused a global outbreak since May 2022, particularly affecting people belonging to key populations, but cases among healthcare providers have been reported. The aim of this work is to present the experience of the Infectious Diseases Unit of San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy with respect to infection control and prevention of mpox occupational transmission. Between May–November 2022, 140 individuals were diagnosed with mpox and six required hospitalization. Overall, 12 medical doctors and 22 nurses provided care to people with mpox. A hospital policy aimed at controlling viral transmission was implemented in May 2022. Protective equipment was used for all healthcare providers. One accidental puncture occurred with a scalpel contaminated with blood from a mpox viremic individual (mpox plasma cycle threshold = 36); no mpox related symptoms were observed and mpox testing ruled out transmission. Six months following exposure, neutralizing antibodies were not detectable, ruling out contagion. Overall, we observed no mpox transmission among healthcare workers, despite the number of visits and procedures performed, including bodily-fluids sampling, and even following puncture with contaminated blood. Hospital preparedness for the management of new infectious disease outbreaks, with rapid implementation of policies aimed at controlling infection, is paramount to avoid occupational transmission.
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ISSN:2075-1729
2075-1729
DOI:10.3390/life13081705