In total, more than 180 confirmed or possible cases of infection have been registered in at least 14 countries around the planet.
Atypical cases of monkeypox, whose predecessor was finally defeated in the 1970s, have been recorded in 14 countries, including the United States and Europe. In Ukraine, the virus is not detected. Athletistic understand what a virus is and whether we should expect a new pandemic.
The original smallpox was defeated
Smallpox is a very ancient virus. It appeared so long ago that modern technology allows us to determine only a very approximate time period. According to various estimates, its line of evolution diverged between 68,000 and 16,000 years ago.
The disease is characterized by severe course, fever, rash on the skin and mucous membranes. The mortality of the disease is 20-40 percent, and in some epidemics it reaches up to 90 percent.
It is possible to beat the disease thanks to comprehensive vaccination. The last case of natural smallpox infection was reported in Somalia in 1977.
In 1978, the last case of infection was recorded in the laboratory. The eradication of smallpox was officially declared in 1980 at the Assembly of the World Health Organization, preceding the corresponding conclusion of the commission of specialists, issued in December 1979.
Officially, at present, smallpox is preserved in only two laboratories in the world – the CDC in the United States and the SSC VB Vector in Russia. Various experts are calling for the destruction of these samples.
At the same time, many unreported cases of smallpox hoarding have been opened in recent years. Thus, in November 2021, 15 “questionable” test tubes labeled “smallpox” and “vaccine” were found in Merck’s laboratory during freezer cleaning.
According to a Robert Koch Institute study, a large portion of the world’s population is no longer vaccinated against smallpox. This can mean that an unfortunate set of events can “revive” the disease.
What is special about monkeypox
Monkeypox is a type of smallpox originally found mainly in West and Central Africa. The pathogen was first discovered in monkey experiments in 1958.
The infection is milder than the original smallpox. The incubation period is six to 16 days. Common symptoms of monkeypox are fever, severe headache, inflammation of the lymph nodes (one of the main differences in many other similar diseases), back and muscle pain, and severe weakness.
A few days after the temperature rises, a person begins to have rashes – mainly on the face, palms and feet, but can also appear on the mucous membranes, genitals and eyes. Over time, the rash changes, becoming blisters with fluid.
At higher risk are children and people with poorly functioning immune systems. People usually recover within two to four weeks, but deaths have also been reported.
Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease that is transmitted to humans from animals. Its secondary distribution is limited by human-to-human transmission.
You can get infected through airborne droplets, household contact (handling the same objects as an infected person) and through contact with the patient’s biological fluids (saliva, urine, blood).
Monkeypox was first identified among people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970. Separate cases of the disease have been observed in the countries of Central and West Africa.
There are two types of viruses. The lethality of one is 3.6 percent, the second – more than ten percent. The cases discovered in May 2022 are associated with a more subtle subspecies. Genetic analysis of the three monkeypox viruses showed that the current variant was close to spreading to Nigeria four years ago.
Experts noticed that most patients in Africa, where the virus once spread, do not have access to quality medical care, which means mortality is lower than in Europe and America. So far, none of the “Mayo” monkeypox patients have died.
Atypical monkeypox
The problem now is no one knows why monkeypox suddenly came to “first world” countries.
One of the patients in the UK is known to have returned from Nigeria, where monkeypox is common, but after visiting Africa, he did not talk to other people who were eventually diagnosed with the infection. These people did not leave the country either.
Transmission of the monkeypox virus from person to person requires very close interaction. In most cases, the chain of infection is limited to only a few people.
Intensive research is currently being conducted to determine if transmission occurs through contact with an injured part of the skin with smallpox secretions.
The main mode of infection in African countries is contact with sick rodents and meat of wild animals. In countries currently experiencing outbreaks, this transmission route is unlikely.
Tracking the causes of recent cases is more difficult because those infected have not traveled to Africa or been in contact with other cases.
A significant portion of “May” cases were men who had sex with men. However, now there is no reason to talk about them as the main risk group and claim that the virus is now transmitted sexually.
Of course, it can also be transmitted through sexual intercourse, however, it is more likely that the virus is transmitted in close contact through airborne droplets.
What is the treatment for monkeypox
Outbreaks of smallpox can be controlled by preventing infection. Vaccination against common smallpox has been proven to be 85 percent effective in preventing smallpox.
However, today the vaccine is not easy to find. Previously, the vaccine drug was distributed only by medical organizations in cases where there was a significant threat of disease spread.
Immunity after vaccination develops within 7-14 days. You can also get vaccinated after the virus enters the body. It has been reported that even if a person is vaccinated within two weeks of exposure to smallpox, it will protect against the disease – or at least against its severe course.
The UK has already purchased smallpox vaccines, but how many injections will need to be given is not yet known.
There are also antiviral drugs designed for common smallpox. In the United States, Canada and the European Union, a drug called tecovirimat is registered. In the US and Canada, it is only for smallpox, but it is also registered in the EU for monkeypox. In the United States, brincidofovir is also approved for the treatment of smallpox.
Will there be a new pandemic
The spread of monkeypox, which now has an outbreak on several continents, should be cause for concern as it will have repercussions, said U.S. President Joe Biden.
“They haven’t told me about the infection rate yet, but that’s something everyone should be concerned about … We’re working for it to figure out what we should do and what vaccine, if any, can available for that., “he said. Biden to reporters on Sunday.
Now the World Health Organization has begun to actively deal with this virus. The WHO has already called for a series of measures against further spread of monkeypox.
“The identification of confirmed and suspected cases of monkeypox with no history of travel to endemic areas is not typical in many countries,” the organization said in a statement.
Therefore, it is critical to raise awareness on monkeypox and conduct comprehensive case finding and isolation (with supportive care), contact monitoring and support to limit forward transmission, the WHO said.
Participants of the World Health Assembly, which opened on May 22 in Geneva – the WHO’s main annual forum – will focus, among other things, on the spread of the monkeypox virus.
However, despite the expected increase in the number of monkeypox infections in the near future, experts have yet to see reasons for serious concern.
“We shouldn’t be afraid of a new pandemic,” Gerd Sutter, a virologist at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, told Die Zeit Online.
Jonathan Ball, professor of molecular virology at the University of Nottingham, said that the fact that one in 50 contacts of the first patient infected with monkeypox became infected indicates that the virus has low transmission.
“We’re not on the brink of a nationwide outbreak,” the British virologist said.
Facts such as the relative ease of the disease, the availability of an effective vaccine and medications reinforce the words of the scientists.
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Source: korrespondent
