WHO monitors monkeypox situation

On May 19, Italy and Sweden both announced the first case of the disease monkey pox. These two countries are the latest in a series of European and North American countries to detect human cases of monkeypox, which is endemic in many parts of Africa.

Since the beginning of May, Europe and North America have reported dozens of suspected or confirmed cases monkey smallpox virus. This raises concerns that the disease is beginning to spread.

The World Health Organization also released data showing that the current smallpox vaccine is 85% effective against monkeypox.

Monkeypox is a rare virus with a mortality rate of about 10%. Viruses can enter through skin wounds, respiratory tract, eyes, nose or mouth, spread through respiratory droplets or bodily fluids. Symptoms appear within 5 to 21 days of being infected with the virus and include fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, chills, and fatigue.

The affected person’s skin will form a scar due to the injury. (Photo: CNN)

Danish scientists confirmed the first case of monkeypox infection in 1958, when the virus that caused the disease was spread among long-tailed macaques (monkeys that ate crabs) in captivity. The monkeypox virus is a virus of the Orthopoxvirus family.

Other viruses in the same family often cause diseases such as smallpox, also known as cowpox. However, monkeypox virus has been found in several animal species, including some monkeys and other rodents. It can also infect humans, but humans are not the natural reservoir for the virus. Unlike smallpox, monkeypox causes the lymph nodes to swell. Symptoms may persist for more than 4 weeks before recovery, but usually disappear after 2 weeks. The affected person’s skin will form a scar due to the injury.

Unlike many other diseases, children with monkeypox have more severe symptoms and a higher mortality rate than adults. However, in recent outbreaks, the mortality rate from the disease has decreased. In 2003, the US recorded 71 people infected with monkeypox virus, but none of the patients died. In Nigeria, authorities detected at least 183 cases of the disease in several states between 2017 and the end of 2019, but only nine deaths.

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