After Britain, the monkeypox virus is now spreading in America as well. Its infection has been confirmed on Wednesday in a person who returned from Canada to Massachusetts. This is the first case of monkey pox in America this year. Significantly, in the last few days, dozens of cases of this rare disease have also been reported in Britain, Spain, Portugal and Canada.
What is Monkey Pox?
Monkey pox was first detected in a monkey in 1970, after which it spread to 10 African countries.
Monkey pox is caused by a virus that is a member of the smallpox virus family. Monkey pox was first detected in a monkey in 1970, after which it spread to 10 African countries. Its cases were first reported in the US in 2003. Nigeria had the largest outbreak of monkeypox in 2017, with 75% of its patients being male. Its cases were first reported in the UK in 2018.
According to experts, this disease is definitely rare, but can also prove to be serious. At present, monkeypox is found mostly in some areas of Central and West African countries. On May 6, the first patient found in Britain had returned from Nigeria.
How is the disease spread?
The patient can suffer from monkeypox for 7 to 21 days.
Experts believe that monkeypox spreads through close contact with an infected person. This virus enters the body through the eyes, nose and mouth after coming out of the patient's wound. It can also be spread by animals such as infected monkeys, dogs and squirrels, or through bedding and clothing that has come in contact with the patient. The patient can suffer from monkeypox for 7 to 21 days.
The World Health Organization (WHO) team has also swung into action after WHO is investigating 40 cases of monkey pox in Spain, Portugal and 9 in Britain. The agency is also investigating the infection of this virus in homosexual patients. At the same time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is doing contact tracing to identify potential patients. Health experts believe that there is no possibility of a major outbreak of monkeypox at the moment.
gay men at risk of infection
The UK Health Security Agency has warned gay men about monkeypox.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says that most cases of monkeypox detected in the UK so far are men who identify themselves as gay or bisexual. This means that these men have had relationships with men. In view of this, the agency has also warned gay men. Until now, monkeypox has not been considered a sexually transmitted disease. Nevertheless, health experts have warned gay and bisexual men to immediately undergo a sexual health checkup if they show any symptoms.
Symptoms of Monkey Pox
Monkey pox causes a rash to appear on the face, which can spread to other parts of the body as well.
According to the UKHSA, the initial symptoms of monkeypox are flu-like. These include fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, shivering, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes. After this, a kind of rash starts emerging on the face, which can also spread to other parts of the body. During infection, this rash goes through many changes and eventually falls off as a scab like chickenpox.
Smallpox vaccine is also effective for monkey pox
According to the CDC, the smallpox vaccine also proves to be effective against monkeypox infection. To avoid this rare disease, the Food and Drug Association of America (FDA) approved a vaccine named Jynneos in 2019. It was approved by the European Medicines Agency in 2013. However, the vaccine can only be used on people over the age of 18.