Question answer.
The cases of monkeypox are increasing slowly but steadily in Austria. But who is particularly at risk of contracting the more harmless variant of smallpox? What are the symptoms to look out for? An Enlightenment.
1 What is the normal course of a monkeypox infection?
ANSWER: Basically, monkeypox is caused by the pathogen orthopoxvirus simiae. If there is an infection, a few skin lesions form at the entry point of the virus into the body, you might also call them pustules. Then the virus spreads in the body, symptoms such as fever, back pain and, above all, swollen lymph nodes appear. “It is only later that the lesions spread, which can occur all over the body,” explains Monika Redlberger-Fritz from MedUni Vienna’s Center for Virology, in the current episode of “Is that healthy”, the little one’s medical podcast Newspaper. The pustules fill with fluid that has a very high viral load. Eventually, crusts form, which later fall off. Then the patient is no longer infectious. The entire process can take up to four weeks.
