Since May of this year, cases of monkeypox have been reported in several non-endemic countries around the world, and there is community transmission. So, what is monkeypox? What are the routes of transmission? And what are the symptoms?
“Monkeypox is a human-animal viral disease caused by monkeypox virus infection, the main clinical manifestations of fever, rash, lymph node enlargement.” Monkeypox virus is classified in the genus Orthopoxvirus of the family Poxviridae, one of the four genera of Orthopox viruses that cause disease in humans, the other three are smallpox virus, pox virus and cowpox virus.
The main source of infection of monkeypox is rodents infected with monkeypox virus. Primates (including monkeys, chimpanzees, humans, etc.) can also become infectious sources after infection. The virus invades the body through mucous membranes and broken skin. People become infected mainly through contact with diseased exudate, blood, or other body fluids of infected animals, or through bites or scratches of infected animals. Human-to-human transmission is mainly through close contact, but also through droplet transmission, contact with objects contaminated with the virus may also be infected, and can also be transmitted vertically through the placenta. Sexual transmission cannot yet be ruled out.
The population is generally susceptible to monkeypox virus. People who have previously been vaccinated against smallpox have a degree of cross-protection against monkeypox virus.
The incubation period of monkeypox is 5 to 21 days, mostly 6 to 13 days. Early onset of the disease appears chills, fever, body temperature more than 38.5 ℃, can be accompanied by headache, drowsiness, fatigue, back pain and myalgia and other symptoms. Most patients develop swollen lymph nodes in the neck, axilla and groin. The rash appears 1 to 3 days after the onset of the disease. The rash undergoes several stages of change from maculopapular, papular, herpetic, pustular to crusting. The herpetic and pustular rashes are mostly spherical, hard in texture, and may be accompanied by marked itching and pain. The period from onset to crusting is approximately 2 to 4 weeks. Some patients can develop complications, including secondary bacterial infections at the site of the lesions, bronchopneumonia, encephalitis, corneal infections, sepsis, etc.
Monkeypox is a self-limiting disease and most have a good prognosis. Severe cases are common in young children, immunocompromised people, and the prognosis is related to the branch of the virus infected, the degree of virus exposure, previous health status and the severity of complications.
