Dr. Islam Annan, lecturer of health economics and epidemiology, revealed the developments of the monkeypox virus, explaining that monkeypox is a weak part of the smallpox family, not smallpox, pointing out that smallpox is a fatal disease that caused the death of 300 million people, and ended the world in 1980.
When does monkeypox become an epidemic?
And Annan added, during a telephone interview with the “8 Al-Sabah” program, broadcast on DMC this morning, that the deaths of monkeypox are minimal, and good hospitals can treat it, explaining that the infected person infects only one or two people and not More, pointing out that the spread of smallpox decreases with time, continuing: “The World Health Organization declares that the disease is an epidemic or not, according to the number of deaths.”
He stated that smallpox spread in America in 2003 and caused 70 cases in its first exit outside Africa, explaining that it is transmitted from animal to human or from human to human, and is not linked to a species or sex, continuing: “Smallpox differs from smallpox, and smallpox vaccinations, Only those who are immunized are those who received the smallpox vaccine in the past, and they are 85% immune, and they are currently 44 years old, because the younger generation did not get a vaccine.”
The professor of health economics and epidemiology explained that there is currently a vaccine once morest the monkeypox virus, in addition to the fact that two vaccines have been approved at the moment, pointing out that the United States of America has contracted vaccines of 300 million doses for its citizens.
Monkeypox virus is nothing to worry regarding and different from corona
For his part, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Acting Minister of Health and Population, Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, confirmed that the monkeypox virus is not a cause for concern, and that there are no cases of monkeypox in Egypt that have proven positive, explaining that this virus is completely different from the “Corona” pandemic. And that the number of cases infected with it around the world has so far reached 250 discovered cases, and this disease has existed for many years and is not new or appears for the first time, as it was first discovered in laboratory monkeys in 1958, pointing out that the virus that causes “smallpox” Monkeys” are very close to the virus that causes smallpox, but it is less lethal and less transmissible.
Abdel Ghaffar explained that it is a viral disease of animal origin that mainly occurs in forest areas in central and western Africa, and symptoms of this disease appear with fever, rash and enlarged lymph nodes and may lead to a group of medical complications, and scientists have been studying it for many years, and it is transmitted to humans from During close contact with an infected person or animal, or with materials contaminated with the virus. Monkeypox is less contagious than smallpox and causes less serious disease, and monkeypox patients usually clear themselves following 2 to 4 weeks of symptoms.