Recently health officials in the United Kingdom have confirmed a case of ‘monkeypox’, a rare viral infection similar to smallpox, in a person who had recently traveled to Nigeria.
Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (virus transmitted from animals to humans) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in patients with smallpox, although it is less clinically severe.
It has emerged as the most important orthopoxvirus with the eradication of smallpox in the year 1980 and later the end of smallpox vaccination.
The ‘Genus Orthopoxvirus’ has four species that infect humans: Variola (smallpox), monkeypox, vaccinia (Buffalo pox) and cow pox.
Today Current Affairs
Monkeypox:
It is a viral zoonotic disease (a disease transmitted from animals to humans) and is recognized as a disease similar to smallpox in monkeys, hence the name monkeypox. It is an endemic disease of Nigeria.
Animals identified as sources of monkeypox virus include monkeys and apes, a variety of rodents (including rats, squirrels and prairie dogs) and rabbits.
The disease is caused by the monkeypox virus, which is a member of the Orthopoxvirus genus in the Poxviridae family.
Background : The Hindu Analysis
Infection of monkeypox was first discovered in 1958 after two outbreaks of smallpox-like disease in the colonies of monkeys kept for research, which was named ‘monkeypox’.
Symptom : The Hindu Analysis
A chickenpox-like rash develops in infected people, but the fever, malaise, and headache caused by monkeypox are usually more severe than those caused by chickenpox.
Monkeypox can be distinguished from chickenpox in the early stages of the disease because it has an enlarged lymph gland.
Transmission : The Hindu Analysis
Monkeypox virus is mostly transmitted between people from wild animals such as rodents and primates, but human-to-human transmission also occurs.
Human to Human Transmission : The Hindu Analysis
The first case of human transmission was reported in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during a vigorous effort to eradicate smallpox.
Human-to-human transmission can be caused by infected respiratory tract secretions, skin wounds of an infected person, or fluids secreted from the patient or wound, and by close contact with contaminated objects.
Healing Period : The Hindu Analysis
The incubation period (time from infection to symptoms) for monkeypox is usually 7–14 days, but this period can also be as long as 5–21 days.
Death rate : The Hindu Analysis
It spreads rapidly and can cause the death of one in ten people if infected. Most deaths occur in the younger age group.
The treatment : The Hindu Analysis
The clinical presentation of monkeypox is similar to that of an orthopoxvirus infection related to smallpox, which was declared worldwide in 1980.
The vaccinia vaccine used during the smallpox eradication program is also a protective treatment against monkeypox.
A new third generation vaccinia vaccine has now been approved for the prevention of smallpox and monkeypox, and antiviral agents are also being developed.
In this article we mention all information about Monkey pox Today Current Affairs.
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