Monkeypox

In News

  • Several cases of monkeypox have been reported from the United Kingdom by health agencies.
    • As per the WHO the cases are found close to tropical rainforests where there are animals that carry the virus.

Monkeypox

  • About: 
    • Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease that occurs primarily in tropical rainforest areas of Central and West Africa and is occasionally exported to other regions.
    • Monkeypox is caused by monkeypox virus, a member of the Orthopoxvirus genus in the family Poxviridae.
    • The clinical presentation of monkeypox resembles that of smallpox, a related orthopoxvirus infection which was declared eradicated worldwide in 1980.
  • Symptoms:
    •  Monkeypox typically has the following symptoms:
      • Fever
      • Rash and swollen lymph nodes
      • Headaches and nausea
  • Transmission:
    • Monkeypox virus is mostly transmitted to people from wild animals such as rodents and primates, but human-to-human transmission also occurs.
    • Monkeypox virus is transmitted from one person to another by contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding.
  • Outbreaks:
    • The first case of monkeypox was reported in 1958 in monkeys and in humans in 1970 in the western Africa.
    • Nigeria witnessed the biggest outbreak of the disease in 2017.
    • Thereafter, the disease has been reported in many countries including the USA, Singapore, UK.
  • How is it different from smallpox?
    • The main difference between symptoms of smallpox and monkeypox is that the latter causes lymph nodes to swell (lymphadenopathy) while smallpox does not.

Source: IE

 
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