Monkeypox: Causes, Symptoms, Transmission, and Treatment
For more information about Monkeypox, consult with a healthcare professional for accurate diagnosis and treatment options.
What is Monkeypox?
Monkeypox is a rare viral disease that originated in Africa, caused by the Monkeypox virus. This zoonotic disease, which can be transmitted from animals to humans, is primarily found in remote parts of Central and West Africa near tropical rainforests. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), African rodents and non-human primates like monkeys can carry the virus, which can then spread to humans.
Read also: Infectious Diseases and Contagious (viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi, protozoa)
The first human case has been detected in 1970, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in a 9-year-old boy living in an area where smallpox had been eliminated since 1968.
How is Monkeypox Transmitted?
Monkeypox spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids, lesions, or mucous membranes of an infected person or animal. It can also spread through respiratory droplets during prolonged face-to-face contact, as well as through contact with contaminated objects like bedding, clothes, or utensils.
Animal-to-human transmission often occurs from handling or consuming infected animals, especially if the meat is not cooked properly. Common carriers include monkeys, Gambian giant rats, and squirrels, but rodents are thought to be the primary reservoir of the virus.
What are the symptoms of monkeypox?
Monkeypox symptoms closely resemble those of smallpox but are typically milder. Symptoms appear within 5 to 21 days of exposure. The first five days of infection usually cause:
- fever
- headache
- lymphadenopathy (swollen lymph nodes)
- back pain
- myalgia (muscle pain)
- asthenia (exhaustion)
After 1 to 3 days of fever, a distinctive rash develops, starting on the face and spreading to other areas of the body, including the palms, soles, and mucous membranes. The rash evolves through several stages:
- smudges (something wet or sticky)
- papules (acne that stands out, feels solid and painful, looks reddish)
- vesicles (thin-walled sac filled with a fluid, usually clear and small.)
- pustules (small, inflamed, pus-filled, blister-like sores or lesions on the skin surface)
- scabs (once scabs form and fall off, the person is no longer contagious.)
Most cases resolve on their own within 2 to 3 weeks, although complications like respiratory or neurological damage, especially in children and immunocompromised individuals, can occur.
B Virus (herpes B, monkey B virus, herpesvirus simiae, and herpesvirus B)
Is Monkeypox Contagious?
Monkeypox is contagious but less so than other viral diseases. Human-to-human transmission typically occurs through prolonged face-to-face exposure to respiratory droplets or direct contact with infected skin lesions, body fluids, or contaminated objects. According to the WHO, human transmission is limited and usually requires prolonged exposure.
Monkeypox Transmission Outside Africa
According to researchers at the Institut Pasteur, the transmission of the monkeypox virus outside Africa “is probably due to the global decline in immunity to viruses of the orthopoxvirus genus (responsible for human smallpox), following the cessation of smallpox vaccination in the 1980s. Monkeypox could therefore become the most important orthopoxvirus infection in humans”.
How do I know if I have monkeypox?
To diagnose the disease, it is necessary to go through an analysis of the virus in the laboratory.
What is the treatment for monkeypox?
“There is no specific treatment or vaccine, although smallpox vaccination has been shown to be very effective in preventing monkeypox as well,” the WHO points out. Monkeypox is a disease from which the patient usually recovers spontaneously in two to three weeks.
Is there a monkeypox vaccine?
There is no vaccine against Monkeypox but that against smallpox would be 85% effective according to the Pasteur Institute.
Additionally, newer vaccines have been developed specifically for orthopoxviruses, including mpox. For instance, Jynneos (also known as Imvamune or Imvanex) is a vaccine that has been approved for the prevention of both smallpox and mpox. This vaccine is being used in some countries to control outbreaks and provide protection against the virus.
Is monkeypox fatal?
“The mortality rate during outbreaks of monkeypox has been between 1% and 10%, with most deaths occurring in younger people,” says the WHO. “The disease usually lasts 2 to 4 weeks. In Africa, monkeypox has been shown to kill at least 1 in 10 people who contract the disease,” the CDC states.
The disease is more serious in children and in immunocompromised people. It can be complicated by superinfection of skin lesions or respiratory, digestive or ophthalmological or neurological damage.
Information: Cleverly Smart is not a substitute for a doctor. Always consult a doctor to treat your health condition.
Sources: PinterPandai, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp, CDC, WHO, Institut Pasteur
Photo credit: WHO / Mark V. Szczeniowski
