This illustration shows test tubes labeled “Monkeypox virus positive and negative” on May 23, 2022.
Donat Ruvic | Reuters
A recent outbreak of smallpox in monkeys in the United States, Europe, Australia and the Middle East has baffled health experts and is raising concerns about a wider outbreak.
On Wednesday, there were 346 confirmed and suspected cases in 22 countries outside Africa where the virus is endemic, according to Our World in Data.
It marks the first known community spread of the virus. Prior to this outbreak, cases had been linked to trips to regions where the virus is endemic or imported animals carrying the virus.
Most new cases have spread through sex, with a particular concentration among men who have sex with other men. However, the World Health Organization has warned that anyone could be at risk for the virus. Children, pregnant women and immunocompromised people are considered especially at risk.
“Anyone who has close contact with someone who is infectious is at risk,” a statement on the WHO website said on Wednesday.
Smallpox is a rare disease caused by the smallpox virus, which is part of the same family as smallpox, although it is usually less severe. Smallpox vaccinations have been shown to be 85% effective against smallpox.
The WHO said on Monday that mass vaccinations were unlikely to be needed to combat the outbreak. But given the pace of the outbreak and the lack of clarity about its cause, the public health agency urged people to practice good hygiene and safe sex to help control its spread.
Protect yourself from monkeypox
While health experts agree that the risks to the general public are low, there are several precautions you can take to reduce your risk of getting the virus.
Recommendations from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the UK National Health Service and the WHO include:
- Avoid coming in contact with people who have recently been diagnosed with the virus or who may have been infected.
- Wear a face mask if you are in close contact with someone who is having symptoms.
- Use condoms and watch for symptoms if you have recently changed sexual partners.
- Avoid contact with animals that may carry the virus. This includes sick or dead animals, and especially those with a history of infection, such as monkeys, rodents, and prairie dogs.
- Practice good hand hygiene, especially after coming in contact with infected or suspicious animals or humans. For example, wash your hands with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Use personal protective equipment (PPE) when treating patients with confirmed or suspected smallpox infection.
This 2003 electron microscope image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows mature, oval, monkeypox virions on the left and immature spheres on the right, obtained from a sample of human skin associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak.
Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regner | CDC via AP
Smallpox can also be transmitted through surfaces and materials, so it is prudent to avoid coming into contact with materials that have been in contact with a diseased human or animal.
“This is a virus that is super stable outside of the human host, so it can live on objects like blankets and things like that,” Dr. Scott Gottlieb said Monday.
“It would be a good practice to wash clothes and sheets regularly at high temperatures,” Emmanuel Andre, a professor of medicine at Ku Leuven University in Belgium, told CNBC on Wednesday.
However, he said that he did not think it necessary for the public to start avoiding public areas, taxis, shops and hotels.
“The general population should not take much more precautions than we do in normal life,” he said. “If people are in the high-risk population, where they are aware that they are in a high-risk environment, they should take extra precautions.”
What to do if you catch smallpox
If you suspect that you have contracted smallpox from the monkey, you should isolate yourself from physical contact with other people and seek medical advice immediately.
Early symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches, swelling, and back pain. Rash and lesions usually appear on the face, hands, feet, eyes, mouth, or genitals within one to five days. These eruptions turn into raised bumps and then blisters, which can fill with white liquid before breaking and shattering.
This chart from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the symptoms of one of the first known cases of monkeypox virus in a patient’s hand on May 27, 2003.
CDC | Getty Images
Many of the symptoms of the virus can be easily confused with other diseases, such as chickenpox, herpes, or syphilis, so medical confirmation is important.
If you are diagnosed with monkeypox, you will need to isolate yourself until the virus has passed. The disease is usually mild and most people recover in 2 to 4 weeks.
Although medical advice currently varies from country to country, the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) notes that you may need to stay in a specialist hospital to prevent the infection from spreading to others.
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