Should you worry about monkeypox?

Monkey smallpox can be diagnosed by PCR test – Photo: REUTERS

The global eradication of smallpox more than 40 years ago is considered one of the greatest achievements in public health history, as it eliminated the leading cause of death, blindness and disfigurement in children. mankind for at least 3,000 years of history.

However, according to Bloomberg News, the flip side of eradicating smallpox is leading to the end of a global vaccination program that protects against other smallpox viruses.

That includes monkeypox, a disease that spreads from an unspecified host and then infects humans in Africa with increasing frequency since the 1970s. More recently, monkeypox has exploded. spread in Europe and North America.

What is monkey pox?

The disease was first discovered in 1958 in captive monkeys. Then they contracted a disease resembling smallpox.

Although monkeys also contract this disease, like humans, monkeys are not the host of the virus. Viruses of the genus Orthopoxvirus, which includes the variola virus – the cause of smallpox and the vaccinia virus – used in the smallpox vaccine and the cowpox virus (cowpox virus).

Monkeypox is less contagious than smallpox and has milder symptoms. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 30% of smallpox patients have died, while the recent monkeypox mortality rate has been 3% to 6%.

Effects of monkey smallpox

After an incubation period of one to two weeks, patients develop fever, muscle aches, fatigue, and flu-like symptoms. Unlike smallpox, monkeypox causes swollen lymph nodes.

Within a few days of fever, the patient develops a rash, which begins on the face and spreads to other parts of the body. The wound develops into a pustule, which if formed on the eye can cause blindness.

According to WHO, the illness usually lasts two to four weeks. Patients can infect others from the time of symptoms until the scabs fall off.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some patients develop genital lesions and rashes, which are difficult to distinguish from syphilis, HSV, shingles or other diseases.

How is monkeypox spread?

Viruses enter the body through wounds, respiratory tract or mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, mouth.

Person-to-person transmission is through droplets, contact with bodily fluids or wounds of an infected person. It can also be spread indirectly through contact with clothing or bed linen and through sexual contact.

Common disinfectants can kill monkeypox virus.

Epidemic situation

Since May, more than 100 cases of monkeypox have been recorded, mainly in European countries.

What’s unusual about the outbreak is that it occurs in countries where the disease was uncommon before.

Scientists consider the possibility that this outbreak is mainly caused by sexual contact with an infected person.

The question now is whether monkeypox can become a pandemic, but even in Congo – where there are thousands of cases annually – monkeypox is not yet a pandemic.

How is it treated and prevented?

Monkeypox is diagnosed through a PCR test, based on a sample taken from a patient’s wound.

The illness is usually mild and most patients recover within a few weeks. Treatment is aimed at relieving symptoms.

According to the UK Health Security Agency, the smallpox vaccine can be given both before and after exposure and is up to 85% effective in preventing monkeypox.