In the UK, a case of monkeypox has been diagnosed, an infectious disease transmissible to humans which causes a severe skin rash.
Monkeypox skin lesions. Credit: wikipedia
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed at least one case of monkeypox, a viral infectious disease that typically affects tropical countries in West and Central Africa. The patient is a man who recently returned from Nigeria who is currently being treated in a specialist infectious disease ward at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust Hospital in London. As a precaution, everyone who came into close contact with the man – including health workers and those who traveled alongside him on planes – has been contacted by health authorities for advice on prophylaxis . The BCC has reported that there are two more cases, another traveler from Nigeria and a doctor who came into contact with the first patient, but at the moment the news is not being reported by UKHSA. In 2018, the first three cases of monkeypox were recorded in the UK; even then, it would be two travelers and a health worker. Here’s what you need to know about this disease.
monkeypox virus
Monkeypox is a rare viral infectious disease first identified in 1958 in certain cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) kept in captivity; hence the name of the pathology. As indicated by the National Institute of Health (ISS), it is caused by a virus belonging to the genus Orthopoxvirus of the Poxviridae family, the Monkeypox virus, similar to the virus that causes human smallpox – Variola -, to Vaccinia ( used in the smallpox vaccine) and the cowpox virus. It can be transmitted “by a bite or direct contact with blood, bodily fluids or a wound of an infected animal”, specifies the ISS. Reservoir species include some small mammals such as Gambian rats and prairie dogs; it was the latter that sparked an epidemic in the United States in 2003, with more than 70 cases diagnosed. Transmission can also occur through contact with contaminated objects and between humans. Fortunately interpersonal infection is quite difficult, as clarified by Dr Colin Brown, Director of Clinical and Emerging Infections at UKHSA, who said: “It is important to emphasize that monkeypox does not spread easily between people and that the overall risk to the general public is very low.”
Symptoms of Monkey Pox
The condition has an average incubation period of a dozen days (one to three weeks) and usually resolves on its own within a few weeks. Signs and symptoms shown by ISS include fever, headache, back pain, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, and a general feeling of being unwell. UKHSA also reports chills. A “pustular rash” appears one or more days after the onset of fever, with lesions usually appearing first on the face and then spreading to the rest of the body. The rash progresses over days until the pustules crust over and fall off, sometimes leaving a scar on the skin. Healing usually takes between 2 and 4 weeks. Mortality is about 10% in Africa among people not vaccinated against human smallpox; the latter had a mortality rate of 30% before its eradication thanks to the vaccine.
How is monkeypox treated?
Beyond supportive care as with any infectious disease, there is no specific cure for monkeypox. However, the human smallpox vaccine is known to have significant efficacy in preventing infection and protecting against contagion. The ISS indicates an efficacy against clinical manifestations of 85 percent.