Monkeypox was discovered in 1958 when a smallpox-like disease broke out among groups of monkeys used for research.
Scientists have yet to confirm the disease, but it is believed to be spread by small rodents and squirrels in the rainforests of Africa.
There are two types of monkeypox virus. which are known as Central African and West African. Central African monkeypox virus causes more severe infections and more deaths than West African monkeypox virus.
Symptoms of monkeypox
Monkeypox usually begins with flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle aches and fatigue, which may last a day or two. One to three days after the fever, the rash appears, and after a few days, the rash begins to appear on the body, increasing to small patches of red skin. They may then turn into blisters that may fill with a whitish fluid after some time.
It sometimes looks similar to chicken pox, syphilis or herpes. It usually spreads from the face to the limbs, hands, feet and then the rest of the body, said World Health Organization (WHO) officials. But disease experts have identified a pattern in recent cases. Officials are seeing more cases where the rash starts on the thighs.
If you are infected with the virus, it has a very long incubation period and once it enters the body, it first affects the internal organs.
Symptoms include high fever, body aches and pains, headache, and fatigue.
As the body fights these symptoms, lymphadenopathy, or enlarged lymph nodes, appears after the initial symptoms.
These symptoms then progress to rashes on the hands, feet, face, mouth or even thighs. These rashes turn into raised bumps or painful pus-filled red papules.
Contact your doctor if you are experiencing these symptoms, especially if you have recently traveled to areas in central or west Africa or within Europe where multiple cases have been reported.
Treatment of monkeypox
There is no specific treatment for monkeypox. Current treatments for this disease are originally approved as a defense in the event of a biological attack. The smallpox virus belongs to the orthopoxvirus family and shares important similarities with smallpox, an old enemy of humanity. Between 1% and 3% of monkeypox patients die, compared to 30% of smallpox deaths.
The monkeypox and smallpox viruses are very similar, so treatments developed for smallpox can also be used for monkeypox. There is no specific treatment for monkeypox.
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2024-08-19 23:16:30
