As more cases of monkeypox are detected in Europe and North America, some scientists who have monitored numerous outbreaks in Africa say they are baffled by the unusual disease’s spread in developed countries. (Read More Here).
Cases of the smallpox-related disease haven’t previously been seen among people with no links to central and West Africa. But in the past week, Britain, Spain, Portugal, Italy, US, Sweden and Canada all reported infections, mostly in young men who hadn’t previously travelled to Africa.
France, Germany, Belgium and Australia confirmed their first cases of monkeypox on Friday.
One of the theories British health officials are exploring is whether the disease is being sexually transmitted. Health officials have asked doctors and nurses to be on alert for potential cases, but said the risk to the general population is low.
Outbreaks in Nigeria, which reports about 3,000 monkeypox cases a year, are usually in rural areas, where people have close contact with infected rats and squirrels, according to Tomori. He said the disease is not spread very easily and that many cases are likely missed.
“Unless the person ends up in an advanced health centre, they don’t attract the attention of the surveillance system,” he said.
Tomori hoped the appearance of monkeypox cases across Europe and other countries would further scientific understanding of the disease.
There is no specific vaccine for monkeypox, but a smallpox jab offers 85% protection since the two viruses are quite similar.
Authorities in the UK said they had bought stocks of the vaccine and started offering it to those with “higher levels of exposure” to monkeypox.
Spanish health authorities have also reportedly purchased thousands of smallpox jabs to deal with the outbreak, according to Spanish newspaper El País.
Australia’s first case was detected in a man who fell ill after travelling to the UK, the Victorian Department of Health said.
In North America, health authorities in the US state of Massachusetts confirmed that a man has been infected after recently travelling to Canada. He was in “good condition” and “poses no risk to the public”, officials said.
What are the initial symptoms of monkeypox?
There is an incubation period of some seven to 14 days, the CDC said. Initial symptoms are typically flu-like, such as fever, chills, exhaustion, headache and muscle weakness, followed by swelling in the lymph nodes, which help the body fight infection and disease.
“A feature that distinguishes infection with monkeypox from that of smallpox is the development of swollen lymph nodes,” the CDC said.
Next comes a widespread rash on the face and body, including inside the mouth and on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.
The painful, raised poxes are pearly and fluid-filled, often surrounded by red circles. The lesions finally scab over and resolve over a period of two to three weeks, the CDC said.
“Treatment is generally supportive as there are no specific drugs available. However, a vaccine is available that can be given to prevent the development of disease,” Jimmy Whitworth, professor of international public health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said in a statement.
Where did monkeypox originate?
Monkeypox got its name in 1958 when “two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research,” the CDC said.
However, the main disease carrier of monkeypox is still unknown, although “African rodents are suspected to play a part in transmission,” the agency said.
The first known case of monkeypox in people was “recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo during a period of intensified effort to eliminate smallpox,” the CDC said.
After 40 years with no reported cases, monkeypox reemerged in Nigeria in 2017, the CDC said. Since then, there have been more than 450 reported cases in Nigeria and at least eight known exported cases internationally, the agency said.
A outbreak occurred in the US in 2003 after forty-seven people in six states — Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin — became ill due to contact with their pet prairie dogs, the CDC said.
“The pets were infected after being housed near imported small mammals from Ghana,” the CDC said. “This was the first time that human monkeypox was reported outside of Africa.”
CNN’s Michael Nedelman, Paula Newton, John Bonifield, Naomi Thomas, Alex Hardie and Benjamin Brown contributed to this report.
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