- Juliana Brune
- BBC Brazil
22 July 2022
The virus causes a rash and flu-like symptoms such as fever and headache
At least five people have died from monkeypox, and more than 15,000 cases have been confirmed worldwide since July 2022, according to the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control.
Monkeypox experts met Thursday to discuss whether the World Health Organization should classify the outbreak as a global health emergency.
Thiago, a Brazilian man living in São Paulo, discovered he had monkeypox following going to a local hospital following complaining of symptoms including high fever, fatigue, chills and rashes all over the body.
But his main problem was pain, swelling and burning in the area of his genitals, where at least nine skin wounds appeared.
“It hurts and feels very itchy. The whole area is very swollen – sometimes it feels like a fire,” Tiago told the BBC.
The monkeypox virus is caused by a virus in the same family as smallpox, but is much less severe. It can be transmitted to humans from an infected animal such as a monkey, rat or squirrel.
Human-to-human transmission is less common, but it can happen when someone is in close contact with an infected person.
The infection is transmitted through broken skin, respiratory tract, eyes and mouth.
Touching contaminated clothing, bedding, or towels used by a person with a monkeypox rash can also transmit the disease.
How does a person infected with the virus feel?
photo released, UKHSA
The monkeypox rash goes through different stages until skin wounds form
Thiago’s symptoms began on July 10.
“At first I had severe chills, followed by a high temperature, headache and general discomfort. I felt like my body was completely exhausted and broken,” he says. “At first I thought it might be a cold or even the coronavirus, but the next day, while I was taking a shower, I noticed the first rash. On my back and my penis.”
Since then, Thiago has started noticing rashes on his feet, thighs, arm, stomach, chest, face and genitals.
“It’s like a swollen, painful pimple,” he adds. Thiago went to hospital on the third day of symptoms, following a friend he had been in contact with a week earlier was diagnosed with monkeypox.
A blood test also confirmed that he was infected with the virus. Tests for sexually transmitted diseases were negative.
“It took a while to go to the hospital, because it was almost impossible for me to get dressed because the pain was really severe. Even the car ride made the pain and swelling worse.”
At the hospital, Thiago said doctors prescribed anti-inflammatories, pain relievers, and an anesthetic ointment, which helped ease the pain and burning sensation.
“The ointment helps, but following four hours it stops working and the pain returns once more,” adds Tiago.
He and his friend have not been able to travel outside Brazil in recent months.
“Once I got out of the hospital, I called my friends with whom I had been in contact in the past few days and informed the neighbors of the diagnosis,” he says.
photo released, Archyde.com
An outbreak of monkeypox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1996 to 1997
In addition to the pain and the itching, Tiago says he had difficult moments in the hospital. “I didn’t receive instructions on how to clean the wounds, how long I would stay sick or when I might get out of isolation. I had to look up all this information on the internet or ask medical friends,” he says. “.
“There is no special area for people with monkeypox. People with the disease come in and move freely around the hospital. I didn’t feel like they were ready for the disease.”
He also referred to the “rude and disrespectful” treatment by doctors and nurses.
“Everywhere in the hospital I went, I was asked if I had HIV or if I had any sexually transmitted diseases.”
“I felt the stigma associated with this disease when I was hospitalized,” Thiago said, referring to the infection of LGBT people during the current outbreak.
According to the World Health Organization, cases have been identified through sexual health clinics in men who have sex with men. However, the organization warns that anyone can catch the disease if they come into contact with an infected person.
The UK’s Health Security Agency said a “significant proportion” of recent cases in the UK and Europe were found among gay and bisexual men, “so we particularly encourage them to be aware of any symptoms and seek help if they are concerned”.
photo released, Getty Images
Micrograph of monkeypox virus
Where did monkeypox come from?
Monkeypox virus is common in central and western Africa, and more specifically in rainforest areas.
In the densely forested Democratic Republic of the Congo, more than 1,200 cases have been reported this year alone, and 57 deaths have been recorded as of May 1, 2022, according to the World Health Organization.
Two main strains of the virus are known – West Africa and Central Africa – the latter being the milder type, while the recent outbreaks came from the West African strain that is now spreading to other regions of the world.
Significantly large numbers of people have contracted monkeypox outside Africa without having traveled to the region, which means that the virus is now spreading in the community.
photo released, Getty Images
The Central African strain is the milder type of monkeypox from West Africa that is now spreading to other regions of the world
The UK’s Health Security Agency says anyone concerned that they may have contracted the virus should contact their local sexual health clinic, by phone or email, prior to an in-person visit.
The agency also advises infected people not to have sex while they are showing symptoms and to use condoms for eight weeks following infection as a precaution.
Most cases of the virus are usually mild, sometimes similar to chickenpox, and go away on their own within a few weeks.
However, monkeypox can sometimes be more severe. All deaths recorded by the World Health Organization so far have been in African countries. After infection, it usually takes 5 to 21 days for the first symptoms to appear.
A rash may appear, usually starting on the face and then spreading to other parts of the body, especially on the hands and soles of the feet.
The rash, which is often annoying and painful, changes and goes through various stages – similar to chickenpox – before forming a crust that then falls off.
The infection usually ends following 14 to 21 days.