As federal health officials race to contain the monkeypox outbreak, the American Academy of Dermatology and the International League of Dermatologic Societies have launched a comprehensive monkeypox registry so that health professionals can share data on the skin symptoms of the disease and the vaccine to improve patient care.
A letter recently published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (JAAD) outlines the aims of the registry, along with instructions on how health providers may submit cases to the database.
“This registry allows physicians and health care professionals to share valuable information about the cases that they are seeing, which helps us identify dermatologic manifestations of the monkeypox virus and help prevent it from spreading further,” said board-certified dermatologist Esther E. Freeman, MD, PhD, FAAD, a member of the American Academy of Dermatology’s Monkeypox Task Force.
Any health care professional taking care of patients with monkeypox or taking care of patients who have received a smallpox/monkeypox vaccine and developed a skin reaction to a vaccine, can contribute to the registry by filling out a brief online form. Patient identifiers such as name or date of birth will not be collected. All de-identified information is kept strictly confidential and will only be shared with researchers compiling information.
“As reports of disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities continue to grow, including those with naturally accompanying sexually transmitted infections, people living with HIV, and groups within the LGBTQ community, the dissemination of accurate data will become even more important,” said Dr. Freeman. “Without widespread availability of treatment or preventive measures, efforts to improve the medical community’s ability to identify cases will be crucial for containment." (NS/Newswise)