- The disease was named for its resemblance to smallpox.
- It is estimated that one in 10 patients dies, especially because they do not receive the indicated treatments on time.
- Other human cases have been identified in the past but most occur in African countries.
While the world remains attentive to the appearance of new variants of Covid-19, there are also other problems of concern. In particular, today a human case of monkeypox and now the important thing is to know what it is and its main symptoms. The most worrying thing is that it is one of the few that occur outside of Africa.
In this case the patient is a man from England although he has a recent travel history to Nigeria. Therefore, it is thought that it was there that he contracted the infection, although this has not yet been proven.
What is?
Monkeypox is a rare viral infection that does not spread easily from person to person. It is usually a mild self-limited illness, and most people recover within a few weeks. However, serious illness can occur in some cases.
The infection can spread when someone is in close contact with an infected person; however, there is a very low risk of transmission to the general population.
An individual has been diagnosed with monkeypox in England.
The patient has a recent travel history from Nigeria, which is where they are believed to have contracted the infection, before traveling to the UK.
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The patient is receiving care at the infectious disease expert unit at Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust in London.
General characteristics of the disease
Initial symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills, and exhaustion. A rash can develop, often starting on the face and then spreading to other parts of the body. The rash changes and goes through different stages before finally forming a scab, which then falls off.
As a precautionary measure, health experts have reached out to people who may have been in close contact with the individual to provide information and health advice.
This includes contacting multiple passengers who traveled in close proximity to the patient on the same flight to the UK. People without symptoms are not considered infectious but, as a precaution, those who have been in close proximity are being contacted to ensure that if they do get sick, they can be treated quickly. If passengers are not contacted, then there is no action for them to take.
Dr. Colin Brown, Director of Clinical and Emerging Infections that it is important to emphasize that monkeypox does not spread easily between people and the overall risk to the general public is very low.
“We are working with NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSEI) to reach out to people who have had close contact with the case prior to confirmation of their infection, to test them as necessary and provide advice.”
In that regard, the UK has well established and robust infection control procedures in place to deal with cases of imported infectious disease and these will be strictly followed.
However, the name of the disease comes from its resemblance to smallpox. During the last decades several cases have been reported but they have mostly occurred in African nations such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
On the other hand, it is estimated that one in 10 patients dies, which represents a rate similar to that caused by pneumonic plague. Although in part it is due to the fact that many do not receive immediate medical attention due to the deficiencies in their countries of origin.