Monkeypox virus, symptoms and its safety measures…

It is a viral infection, which is found mainly in Central and West African countries. For the first time in the year 1958, this viral infection was found in monkeys. The disease was first detected in humans in 1970. Nigeria had the largest outbreak of monkeypox in 2017, with 75% of its patients being male. 

[The image shows a baby is affected by Monkeypox virus] 

The virus enters the body through the eyes, nose, and mouth after coming out of the patient's wound. Apart from this, monkeypox can also be spread by the biting of animals like monkeys, rats, and squirrels or by touching their blood and body fluids. According to experts, you can also fall prey to this disease by not eating properly cooked meat or eating the meat of an infected animal.  

The symptoms of monkeypox can appear from the 5th day to the 21st day of infection. Initial symptoms are flu-like. These include fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, shivering, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes. After this, the rash starts to appear on the face, which also spreads to other parts of the body. During infection, this rash goes through many changes. Eventually, they fall off like a scab, just like smallpox. 

Professor Jimmy Whitworth of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said in a conversation with the news agency Reuters – International travel was closed for a long time due to the Corona epidemic. Now after the abrupt removal of restrictions, people are moving to and from African countries. Maybe that's why cases of monkeypox are coming to the fore. The world battling the corona epidemic is now increasingly vulnerable to monkeypox. 

The disease has spread to 15 countries within just 15 days. After Belgium on Monday, Britain has also made a 21-day quarantine period compulsory for monkeypox patients. At the same time, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that even one case of this disease in any country will be considered an outbreak. On the other hand, India has also become alert seeing the rapid spread of monkeypox. 

On Monday, the Municipal Corporation of Mumbai prepared a 28-bed isolation ward at Kasturba Hospital for suspected patients of monkeypox. However, not a single case of this disease has been found in the country so far. 

Cases of monkeypox have been reported in the UK, USA, Italy, Sweden, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Australia, Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, Israel, Austria, and Switzerland. In just 2 weeks, the number of cases has crossed 100. However, not a single death has been reported from this disease so far. 

The concern of the central government regarding the monkeypox has also increased. In view of the rapidly spreading infection, an alert has been issued to the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The Health Ministry has directed the officials of airports and seaports to immediately isolate any sick travelers who have returned after traveling to monkeypox-affected countries and send samples to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune for testing. 

According to the WHO, a rare infection like monkeypox usually gets better on its own, but it can prove to be serious in some people. Such people include young children, pregnant women, and people with very weak immunity. 

Children younger than 5 years are more prone to it. The WHO is also concerned that most people who are confirmed with monkeypox have no connection to African countries. Actually, this virus is mostly found in Central and West African countries. It is common to find cases in countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and DR Congo.

Stay healthy, stay safe...