What is monkeypox?
It is caused by the pox virus or the Monkey Box virus, and it causes a disease similar to smallpox, but it is less severe and was first discovered in the Copenhagen laboratories in Denmark in 1980.
Methods of transmission of monkeypox infection
Infection from animal to human
Rodents are the main reservoir of monkeypox virus.
It is transmitted to humans from animals: where the infection is transmitted to humans through contact with blood, fluids and mucous secretions of the bodies of animals infected with the disease or their skin lesions, as well as through hunting animals and being bitten or scratched by infected animals. Especially among monkeys, gambian rats, striped squirrels, dormouse, forefoot, wild dogs and striped rats.
Eating undercooked meat from infected animals leads to monkeypox infection.
Infection from human to human
Its transmission from one person to another is limited and does not spread easily between humans
Infection occurs through intimate contact with the respiratory secretions of an infected person (saliva and nasal secretions) or even by touching his skin lesions or by touching objects and objects contaminated with the fluid of the patient with monkeypox such as towels and bedding.
Infection can take place during speech through droplets that come out of the respiratory tract, and therefore the risk of transmission is high between members of the same family.
And it can be transmitted through vaccination and also through the placenta from the infected mother to the fetus.
So does the disease affect a particular group of people?
No, and it can infect even children, but considering that one of the ways of transmission is through contact and close contact with body secretions, this led to the emergence of monkeypox in some groups of people, but attention should be paid not to stigmatizing specific groups because this limits the ability to combat The spread of disease and this makes other people think that they are safe from contracting the disease.
Accordingly, it is spread through sex, especially heterosexual relations, in addition to the other ways of infection mentioned above. However, according to the British Health Security Agency, which revealed the spread of injuries and disease significantly among homosexuals, bisexuals and sexual orientations.
Previous spread of monkeypox
Central and Western Africa (tropical rainforests) and the first thing that was discovered in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) in a 9-year-old boy
And in 2003, there were cases of monkeypox in the United States of America (central western region) as a result of close contact with wild dogs or prairie dogs.
In 2005 cases were discovered in Sudan (Unity State).
In 2016, 26 cases and two deaths were reported in the Central African Republic.
Regions and countries currently spreading monkeypox
Confirmed cases so far are 80 cases in 15 countries (10 European countries such as Spain (with 39 injuries, which is the country with the most infections currently in the world, and most cases in Spain occurred in homosexuals in saunas) and the United Kingdom (20 infections, mostly among homosexuals). Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, Canada, the United States of America, Israel, one case, Australia, one case and another case is being verified) and now 200 suspected cases are being tracked in the United States of America And the World Health Organization tracked 55 cases.
Clinical symptoms of monkeypox
The incubation period (the time between infection with the virus and the onset of symptoms) is from 5 to 21 days.
Injury is divided into two phases:
The first phase: It lasts up to 5 days, where severe headache, fever, enlarged lymph nodes, back and muscle pain, severe weakness, loss of strength or energy, and fatigue occur.
The second phase: It is the period of the rash that appears approximately 1-3 days after the fever and the rash first appears on the face by 95% and then spreads to other parts of the body, especially on the palms of the hands by 75% (first macular papules and then small vesicles filled with With liquid, then pustules, then scabs, it takes 3 weeks to be completely removed).
Skin lesions may be few and even thousands. They also affect the conjunctiva of the eye in one fifth of the cases, the genitals in one third of the cases, and the mucous membranes of the mouth in three quarters of the cases. And even the eyeball and cornea can be injured.
Sometimes severe enlargement of the lymph nodes occurs before the appearance of the rash.
The disease is usually self-limiting (it resolves on its own) and symptoms persist for 2-3 weeks.
Monkeypox in children
The disease is usually severe in children, and this depends on the extent of exposure to the virus, the patient's health condition and complications. And the majority of deaths recorded from the disease occurred in children.
Mortality rate from monkeypox
The death rate from monkeypox does not exceed 10%, and most of these deaths occurred in children, and this indicates that the disease is the most dangerous for children.
How do we diagnose monkeypox?
Enlarged lymph nodes distinguish monkeypox from smallpox, and we can only diagnose monkeypox definitively with a laboratory. These tests include:
Detection of virus antigens
sequencing polymerase
Virus isolation by cell culture
enzymatic immunoassay
Monkeypox vaccine
There is no vaccine against it, but the previous vaccination against smallpox proved its effectiveness by approximately 85%, but unfortunately this vaccine is no longer available to the general public after stopping its administration after the eradication of smallpox from the countries of the world.
Monkeypox treatment
No treatment is available, but cidofovir is a useful treatment for monkeypox.
Prevention of monkeypox
The trade in animals and the transportation of mammals and monkeys should be restricted, and even their transportation could be banned.
Caged animals should not be vaccinated against monkeypox, but it is preferable to isolate them from animals suspected of being infected with the disease, and infected or suspected animals should be quarantined immediately.
In order to limit the spread of the disease among humans, it is necessary to follow the means of raising awareness of the ways of its transmission as long as there is no vaccine currently available and there is no effective treatment against the disease, and it is necessary to closely follow up on suspected cases, and here we recommend:
Avoid close contact and contact with patients suspected of having monkeypox and with infected people, and here wearing gloves is suitable for ordinary people or health workers, and why not wear a mask as well as long as it is also transmitted through respiratory droplets and washing hands frequently.
Cook animal meat thoroughly and wear gloves when handling animal meat and blood.
As for health workers in centers to combat this disease, they must be given a vaccine by the Ministry of Health, and attention must be paid to the immune status of their bodies before giving the vaccine, and even if they are taking steroids.
The monkeypox vaccine can be applied to infected people even two weeks after infection. (meaning the smallpox vaccine).
