More than 85 cases of monkeypox have been reported in 11 countries across Europe, North America and Australia with Germany recording its first case, in UK alone cases have doubled since the first was identified. Health officials have since the outbreak been investigating the cause of this disease, a rare viral typically confined to Africa. According to an epidemiologist this is the most important outbreak in the Western Hemisphere.
What Is Monkey Pox
Monkey pox was first seen in laboratory roof monkey in 1958 and has been existing since then. The species include prairie dogs, rats’ mice and squirrels. Scientist have since its outbreak been trying to find out why the disease is becoming common.
There are two groups of monkey pox virus, one from west Africa and the other from Central Africa. The illness is in two phases, the invasion phase and skin eruption phase.
How can we get monkey pox?
We can get monkey pox when an animal bites us or through scratches. It can equally be transmitted through exchange of large respiratory droplets during prolonged face to face contact. Many of the newly identified cases in Europe, are among men who have sex with men but note monkey pox is not sexually transmissible. It
can also be spread by contact with infected animals such as monkeys, rats and squirrels, by virus-contaminated objects such as bedding and clothing.
Symptoms
Headaches, muscle aches and exhaustion. Patients may develop rash on their face or other parts of the body within one or three days of the fever. Symptoms appear from five to twenty-one days, after someone is infected.
Treatment
There is currently no treatment for monkey pox, though most cases are mild. People suspected of having the virus are isolated and monitored, but small pox vaccines are proven to help curb the virus.
Note most cases are mild, sometimes resembling chicken pox, and clear up within few weeks. Monkey pox can sometimes be more severe and has been reported to have caused deaths in West Africa.
Can gay men have the virus?
Monkey pox is not sexually transmissible though some of the cases have been seen in gay and bisexual men. Anyone who comes in contact with someone who has monkey pox can get the virus. Gay and bisexual men are however called upon to be alert when they discover symptoms.
Cameroon recorded its first case since 2018 from a human clinical, a country where no human cases were reported since 1989.At a time when the country is still battling to completely eradicate the covid 19, measures have been put in place to ensure no case comes up in the country.