Monkeypox and the risk factors associated with it
By: Vinod Chandrashekhar Dixit
Monkeypox, a rare tropical disease spread by wild animals in Africa, has unexpectedly spread abroad this month, posing questions about what precisely it is and how dangerous it might be. It is a respiratory virus and can also spread to humans without contact. It is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms very similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe.
It is caused by the monkeypox virus which belongs to the orthopoxvirus genus of the Poxviridae family. It was first identified in humans in 1970, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The disease is called monkeypox because it was first identified in colonies of monkeys kept for research in 1958. It was only later detected in humans in 1970. It is a re-emerging disease that’s been causing large outbreaks in Nigeria and DRC since 2017. Since 1970, human cases of monkeypox have been reported in 11 African countries – Benin, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan.
Monkeypox primarily occurs in central and west Africa, often in proximity to tropical rainforests, and has been increasingly appearing in urban areas. Animal hosts include a range of rodents and non-human primates. It is a disease of global public health importance as it not only affects countries in west and central Africa, but the rest of the world. In 2003, the first monkeypox outbreak outside of Africa was in the United States of America and was linked to contact with infected pet prairie dogs.
Monkeypox does not spread easily between people as human-to-human transmission occurs through close contact with infectious material from skin lesions of an infected person, through respiratory droplets in prolonged face-to-face contact and through fomites. Humans can contract the disease by getting bitten by an infected animal, or after coming in contact with its blood, body fluids or fur. Eating the meat of an infected animal that has not been cooked properly could also cause infection. Among humans, the virus can spread through clothing, bedding or towels used by someone with a rash; touching skin blisters or scabs of an infected person or coming in contact with droplets from his or her cough and sneeze.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the smallpox vaccine is approximately 85 percent effective in preventing the development of monkeypox. There are effective vaccines against monkeypox – the second and third generation smallpox vaccines, both live virus vaccines using the vaccinia virus. Vaccinia is another orthopoxvirus that confers immunity against smallpox and monkeypox, but can have serious side effects in some people, especially those with compromised immune systems. No doubt, WHO is working with all affected countries to enhance surveillance and provide guidance on how to stop the spread and how to care for those infected.
WHO studies say one in 10 infected people die in the region where people have less access to healthcare facilities. Most of the patients recover two to four weeks. One should remember to practice good hand hygiene after contact with infected animals or humans. For example, washing your hands with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Use personal protective equipment (PPE) when caring for patients. Because monkeypox virus is closely related to the virus that causes smallpox, smallpox vaccine can also protect people from getting monkeypox.
