Infectious disease Infection through food, tableware, towels, etc.
Norovirus food poisoning… Kindergarten, etc.
The ‘monkey smallpox virus’ is raising its head again as COVID-19, which has driven the world into darkness for the past three years, has calmed down. Since 1970, it has been commonly found in countries with tropical rainforests in Central and West Africa, but now it is already a state of emergency on the African continent. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 5,000 cases of monkeypox worldwide have been reported in 51 countries, with the majority in Europe. Currently, 460 people in 30 U.S. states, Washington, D.C. and U.S. Puerto Rico have been infected with monkey pox.
Monkey smallpox is a viral infectious disease similar to human smallpox, which the World Health Organization (WHO) declared eradicated in 1980. Human smallpox is an acute onset disease caused by smallpox virus infection. Monkey pox was first identified in laboratory monkeys in the 1950s, hence the name monkey pox. However, it is considered dangerous because it is a viral zoonotic disease that can spread from animals to humans or from person to person.
Like COVID-19, it can be transmitted through respiratory droplets. Scabs on the body fluids, rashes, or skin of an infected person are particularly contagious and can be transmitted through clothing worn by an infected person, bedding, towels, or utensils. If you are infected while pregnant, you can also infect the fetus. According to recent reports, a significant number of infections are found in homosexual or bisexual men, but it is not a disease that only spreads to a specific target.
The incubation period is generally 6-13 days, and the maximum is 21 days, and fever, muscle pain, back pain, severe headache or fatigue, lymph node swelling, and skin rash appear. Symptoms last 2 to 4 weeks and then go away on their own, but some patients have complications such as skin infections, pneumonia, confusion, and eye infections that can lead to vision loss. The fatality rate recently compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO) is around 3-6%, and children and immunocompromised children often die. There is no treatment that has proven effective or safe so far, but it is recommended to keep the rash area as dry as possible and, if necessary, cover it with a moist dressing to protect the area. Although there is no direct vaccine, it is known that the smallpox vaccine is 85% effective.
To prevent the spread of the virus, it is best to keep distance and wear a medical mask. It is recommended to wash your hands frequently and to disinfect the surfaces of used objects frequently. Overall, it is not much different from COVID-19, but if you have any suspicious symptoms, you should immediately quarantine.
Epidemic (傳染病, Epidemic) is one of the infectious diseases, and refers to all diseases with the characteristic that a pathogen infects a host and spreads as it spreads to other hosts. In Korea, the term has been changed to ‘infectious disease’ in accordance with the 「Act on the Prevention and Management of Infectious Diseases」, and class 1~4 infectious diseases, parasitic infectious diseases, infectious diseases subject to monitoring by the World Health Organization, bioterrorism infectious diseases, sexually transmitted diseases , refers to common infectious diseases and medical-related infectious diseases. Typical diseases include colds, sexually transmitted diseases, typhoid, malaria, cholera, encephalitis, plague, and COVID-19.
Of course, infectious diseases exist not only in humans but also in animals. Infectious diseases spread between livestock include bird flu and swine cholera, which often result in large-scale deaths, and all livestock in the vicinity of the outbreak must be buried alive. In addition, infectious diseases circulate among plants. Representative examples include plant anthrax and potato blight, which can lead to large-scale food shortages such as the ‘Irish famine’ due to a drop in agricultural production.
Infectious diseases pose a great threat to humanity due to their ability to be transmitted to others. In particular, in the past, he was indifferent to hygiene, and due to illiteracy, he did not know the exact cause, so there were many erratic countermeasures such as witchcraft and superstition. Now, hygiene has improved and there are many treatments such as vaccines and antibiotics, so the risk has been greatly reduced. In particular, it is famous for the fact that the plague had a direct impact on the downfall of the ancient Athenian civilization. The sudden increase in the population caused by Pericles’ push of Ithaca and all the inhabitants of the suburbs of Athens to Athens led to an outbreak of the Athenian plague, which resulted in the death of thousands of citizens and even Pericles, the leader of Athens, and eventually caused the decline of Athens. It was also the plague that decisively hindered Justinian I’s reunification of the Roman Empire. In an infectious disease, it is fundamental to isolate the source of infection from non-infected people, and hygiene, cleanliness, and medical prescription must all be combined.
Care must be taken as there are many cases where pathogens are transmitted through air, water, or food containing pathogens, or indirectly contaminated through patient feces or body fluids. In Korea, about 300 cases of food poisoning occur every year, resulting in about 5,000 to 6,000 patients, and currently, norovirus is included in the top three. Viral food poisoning as well as infectious diseases are commonly transmitted from person to person and are vulnerable to infants and the elderly with weakened immunity.
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