Although the classic symptoms of monkeypox include raised pox or enlarged pimples all over the body, with this current outbreak the symptoms may be more discreet.
Skin lesions can be in various areas of the body. In the current outbreak, doctors have seen lesions on the face, hands, feet, chest, genitals, buttocks, and sometimes inside the mouth, as this virus is spread primarily through close contact. , which includes sexual or intimate contact.
Monkeypox: what are the symptoms and how is it spread?
What treatment options are available?
There are no definitive treatments for monkeypox that have been shown to be effective in people who acquire the virus; however, there are drugs that have the potential to show promise in severe cases.
Most cases of monkeypox resolve with the use of over-the-counter medications alone for symptomatic care. However, more severe cases can be treated with an antiviral medicine called Tecovirimat or TPOXX. Although this drug is available, it is not directly approved for monkeypox.
Tecovirimat was approved in 2018 for the treatment of smallpox in adults and children, but has not been directly studied in monkeypox. Clinical trials in animals have shown some efficacy in the treatment of all diseases caused by orthopoxviruses, including monkeypox.
Several doctors have informed that obtaining this drug can be difficult as they had to go through a lengthy process to get it from the US stockpile for their patients.