Health authorities have announced that four new cases of the rare viral monkeypox have been discovered in England.
Britain had previously announced two cases.
And the British Health Security Agency says investigations are underway to reveal a link between the last four cases.
According to the Euronews website, monkeypox is a rare viral disease similar to smallpox that affects humans, and it was declared eradicated in 1980, and although its symptoms are much milder than those of smallpox, as most infected people recover within a few weeks, it may be fatal in rare cases. .
Britain recorded the first infection of a person who returned from Nigeria to the United Kingdom less than two weeks ago, where he received care in a quarantine unit in a London hospital.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms usually begin with a combination of fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, chills, fatigue, and swollen lymph glands. According to the World Health Organization, it is the latter symptoms (swollen lymph nodes), which usually help doctors distinguish chickenpox from chickenpox (chickenpox).
Once you have a fever, the rash is the main sign of monkeypox. It begins to develop after a day or three, often starting on the face and then spreading to other parts of the body.
The number of sores may range from a few to thousands, and these sores go from a flat rash to one filled with fluid and boils, then blisters, followed by scabies at a final stage, before eventually falling off.
Origin of the name “monkeypox”?
The monkeypox virus was first discovered in 1958, when a disease similar to smallpox broke out from monkeys kept for the purpose of subjecting them to scientific research, hence the origin of the name.
But according to the World Health Organization, monkeys may not be the main source of the outbreak, although rodents are the most likely to be infected, such as squirrels, monkeys and rats, and evidence of infections has been found in Africa.
Where was monkeypox found?
Infection with monkeypox leads to an outbreak of the disease in humans mainly in the rainforest regions of central and western Africa, and this disease is not usually observed in Europe.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo was the first country to witness this disease in 1970, when cases were reported in eleven African countries, including Sudan, Cameroon, Nigeria and Central Africa. The disease was first discovered in the United States in 2003, when mammals were imported.
What causes monkeypox?
Infection is by catching the virus through a bite or scratch from an infected animal, by eating meat from bush animals, touching an infected person, touching contaminated bedding or clothing of an infected person.
The virus enters the body through a rash, respiratory tract, or mucous membranes (eyes, nose or mouth). It is believed that transmission of infection between humans occurs mainly through droplets emitted from the respiratory system, whose range cannot exceed a few feet, so the possibility of infection is possible if the distance face to face is very close.
Is it worrisome?
The British Health Security Agency says the risk of monkeypox spreading among people is very rare, and if it occurs, the infection is usually mild and most people recover from it within a few weeks.
But according to the World Health Organization, monkeypox causes death in 11% of infected people, compared to about 30% of people with smallpox, although the symptoms of monkeypox are milder than smallpox itself.
The mortality rate, according to the organization, is higher among children and young people, and among this group, those who suffer from immunodeficiency are at particular risk of contracting serious diseases.
Treatment and prevention
There is no specific treatment for monkeypox, as the disease usually goes away on its own, but the smallpox vaccination is believed to be very effective, and since smallpox has been eradicated for 40 years, the first generation of smallpox vaccines are no longer available to the general public.
Therefore, a new vaccine developed by “Bavarian Nordic” to prevent smallpox and monkeypox has been approved in the European Union, the United States and Canada, under the following trade names: “Imphanix”, “Genius”, and “Imphamone”, and antivirals are also being developed.