Monkeypox: The 2022 Global Outbreak
Course #54040 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
Prior to April 2022, human monkeypox had been a rare zoonotic viral exanthem occasionally encountered in persons living in West or Central Africa, or in persons having had contact with imported animals or recent travel to countries where the disease occurs. Within the span of six weeks, from mid-April to June 1, 2022, single case and clusters of confirmed human monkeypox were reported in 28 countries on multiple continents, including the United States (nine states), none of which are endemic for the disease. On July 23, 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the current global monkeypox outbreak constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Given the rarity of cases previously encountered in the United States, clinical care providers and public health professionals may be unfamiliar or unaware of the clinical features and natural history of monkeypox, including risk factors, modes of transmission, diagnosis, and management of cases occurring in relation to the current outbreak. This course addresses these potential gaps in knowledge in order to improve patient care and outcomes.
This course is designed for dental professionals who may identify and care for patients with suspected or confirmed human monkeypox infection.
The purpose of this course is to address these knowledge gaps to enable timely diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of monkeypox, thereby promoting public health strategies to limit spread of the outbreak.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Outline the epidemiology and background of monkeypox virus globally and in the United States.
- Describe the transmission, course, and clinical presentation of monkeypox virus disease.
- Discuss the diagnosis and treatment of monkeypox infections.
- Analyze measures that may effectively prevent transmission of monkeypox virus.
John M. Leonard, MD, Professor of Medicine Emeritus, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, completed his post-graduate clinical training at the Yale and Vanderbilt University Medical Centers before joining the Vanderbilt faculty in 1974. He is a clinician-educator and for many years served as director of residency training and student educational programs for the Vanderbilt University Department of Medicine. Over a career span of 40 years, Dr. Leonard conducted an active practice of general internal medicine and an inpatient consulting practice of infectious diseases.
Contributing faculty, John M. Leonard, MD, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Mark J. Szarejko, DDS, FAGD
The division planner has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.