Should we be worried about monkeypox? The latest outbreak has, of yet, reached 17 countries with around 110 confirmed cases.
Another 205 cases are also suspected, but no cases have yet been reported in Malta. The first patient in the current outbreak returned to the UK from Nigeria, where the virus is endemic.
- It is most common when people come in close contact with infected animals.
- It does not spread easily and people usually recover within a few weeks.
- Severe illness can occur in some people, with symptoms showing between 5 – 21 days after infection.
- It was first discovered in monkeys in 1958, with the first human case recorded in 1970.
- Monkeypox does not spread as easy as COVID-19 and does so through respiratory droplets.
- Symptoms are flu-like fevers, headaches, swollen lymph nodes and a rash.
- Vaccines for smallpox can protect against monkeypox. Only one specific for monkeypox was approved.
The virus, being a DNA virus, does not replicate as fast as COVID-19, with the latter being an RNA virus. Testing for the virus occurs through swab samples taken from the patient and set to a specialist laboratory where PCR tests are run.
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