Abstract: Objective To summarize the clinical characteristics of 35 patients with human monkeypox in Chengdu City, in order to provide theoretical basis for prevention and control of monkeypox epidemic in China. Methods A total of 35 patients diagnosed with monkeypox infection by Chengdu CDC from July 1 to July 23, 2023 were included in our study. The results of general clinical data, blood laboratory tests, lymph node ultrasound and chest CT results were collected in order to analyze the clinical features of human monkeypox patients in Chengdu City. Results All 35 monkeypox patients were young adult males, and there were no serious or fatal cases. Among them, 32 cases (91.4%) were men who have sex with men (MSM), and 30 cases had engaged in male-to-male sexual behavior within 21 days prior to the onset of the disease, of which 13 cases had taken protective measures. Fever symptoms were observed in 26 cases (74.3%) of the patients, with 19 cases experiencing fever within 1-6 days after the appearance of rash. The initial rash commonly occurred in the male external genitalia. Color ultrasound examinations indicated that all patients had swollen inguinal lymph nodes. C-reactive protein was elevated in 26 cases (74.3%) of patients, and 19 cases showed CD3+CD4+T/CD3+CD8+T< 1.0. 15 cases (42.8%) of the patients were infected with both monkeypox virus and HIV, 28.5% (10/35) of patients had concomitant skin infections and anorectal proctitis,respectively. The mean time from rash onset to the shedding of rash scabs was 14.8 days. Conclusions The MSM population in sexually active age group is the main infection object of human monkeypox virus. In monkeypox patients in Chengdu City, the rash starting at genital areas and rash occurring before systemic symptoms were common. Swollen inguinal lymph nodes are especially common in monkeypox patients. Skin infection and anorectal proctitis are the most common complications in monkeypox patients in Chengdu City. The abnormal cellular immune function in monkeypox patients is mainly reflected in the inverted ratio of CD3+CD4+T/CD3+CD8+T. Currently, there is no evidence to suggest that protective measures during male-to-male sexual behavior can reduce the risk of human monkeypox infection.

Objective    To summarize the results of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) IgG antibody, total antibody and cellular immune function of COVID-19 convalescent patients one year after discharge, and to analyze the correlation between the SARS-CoV-2 antibody and the indexes of immune function. Methods    A total of 41 confirmed COVID-19 patients discharged from Chengdu Public Health Clinical Medical Center from January to April 2020 and followed up one year after discharge were included in the study as the research group, including 18 males and 23 females with an average age of 47.83±12.95 years. The results of SARS-CoV-2 IgG, total antibody and immune function indexes one year after discharge were collected in order to discuss the correlation of SARS-CoV-2 and cellular immune function. A total of 40 healthy employees of the hospital vaccinated against COVID-19 were randomly selected as the vaccine group, including 10 males and 30 females with an average age of 43.90±6.86 years. The SARS-CoV-2 antibodies between the two groups were compared. Results    CD8+T cell count was higher and CD4+T/CD8+T was lower in male patients than those in female patients (all P<0.05). The IgG and total antibodies in patients with re-detectable positive RNA test were both higher than those in patients without re-detectable positive RNA test, but the differences were not statistically significant (P=0.158, 0.060). The positive rate of SARS-CoV-2 IgG in the research group was 80.5% (33/41). SARS-CoV-2 IgG was positively correlated with total antibody (P<0.001). There was a positive correlation between CD4+T cell count and SARS-CoV-2 IgG (r=0.455, P=0.003). The positive rate of SARS-CoV-2 IgG, SARS-CoV-2 IgG amount and total antibody amount in the research group were significantly higher than those in the vaccine group (all P<0.001). Conclusion    SARS-CoV-2 IgG of most COVID-19 patients one year after discharge is positive, and their SARS-CoV-2 total antibody is significantly higher than people vaccinated against COVID-19, which suggests that patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 can obtain lasting protection, but the protection may be gradually weaken over time. The degree of antibody attenuation in patients with re-detectable positive RNA test may be weaker. In the convalescence stage, the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 IgG may be closely related to cellular immune function.