monkeypox. Is it worth it to be afraid?

In 2022, the number of reports of a new disease - " It was considered a rare disease, occurring only in parts of Central and West Africa.. But recently the number of infected has increased significantly, and they appeared outside of Africa.. More than 1,000 confirmed. cases recorded in 29 countries. So far no deaths reported. But, nevertheless, after the recent pandemic, reports of a new disease cannot but worry.

Origin of the disease.

Monkeypox is actually not a new disease.. It was first recorded in 1958.. This virus has been circulating in the wild for a long time, originally among the rodents of Central Africa, but for the first time it was isolated from a monkey, which is why it got its name.. In the 1970s, infected people were found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Later, more than once outbreaks of the disease appeared in some regions of Africa, every year several hundred or thousands of people fall ill with it, but the chains of transmission were short, the virus did not go beyond the continent.

Now the number of infected people has increased. Experts believe that this is due to the lack of vaccinations.. Around the 1980s, smallpox vaccination ended.. there was confidence that she was defeated. But this vaccine also helped against monkeypox.. During this time, the collective immunity of all mankind in relation to these diseases has decreased, which led to an increase in the number of patients.. Experts believe that monkeypox is a zoonosis.. an animal disease that can infect humans. It is not yet clear whether it will be able to gain a foothold in the human population..

Monkeypox is similar to smallpox, but the second one was much more dangerous because. had a higher level of contagiousness and lethality, during some epidemics the percentage reached 90. Those who survived could not lead a normal life: the skin was covered with deep scars, many had partial or complete loss of vision.. Those who contract monkeypox recover completely, and if there are cosmetic consequences, they are not as significant as from natural. In 2017, there was a major outbreak in Nigeria, when 200 cases were recorded, the mortality rate was 3%..

Susceptible to the disease are rodents (tree and striped squirrels, dormice, Gambian rats) and some primates.. Most often, people become infected after contact with domestic rodents.. To get sick, it is enough to touch them or to the bedding, as well as to eat the meat or offal of infected animals.. Ways of infection - airborne or contact. Fortunately, the disease is almost not transmitted from person to person, but this is also possible if there has been prolonged contact..

Symptoms of the disease.

After infection, signs of the disease do not appear immediately, after about 5-21 days, but on average the incubation period does not exceed 6-13 days. At the beginning of the disease, the symptoms resemble the common flu.. The patient complains of headache, pain in the back and muscles, fever, chills, dizziness, nausea.. The temperature can rise to 39.5 - 40 ° C. Already on the 3rd or 4th day, the fever subsides, to 38.5 ° C.

After 1-3 days, a rash appears on the face, head, hands, feet, which gradually spreads to all parts of the body, including the mucous membranes of the mouth (in 70% of patients), genitals (in 30%), on the cornea of \u200b\u200b\u200b\u200bthe eye. At first, these are just spots, the diameter of which does not exceed 6-10 mm, then a papule forms in this place.. Later it becomes a bubble filled with transparent contents, and then an abscess. After 10 days, a scab forms on this site.. It will fall off, may leave a scar behind. When bubbles form, the person feels worse again, chills are observed, body temperature jumps to 39 ° C. May cause cough, dry throat, raw feeling.

At risk are those who have lived in Africa for some time, as well as people whose profession is related to caring for animals, butchering carcasses, working in agriculture, as well as employees of laboratories and medical institutions. In Europe, the outbreak was also among homosexual men, most likely, the virus is effectively transmitted among those who practice promiscuity. Monkeypox is also spreading because in many regions of Africa people live in poverty, eat raw meat and animal entrails, and there are a lot of rodents in their dwellings.. The low level of hygienic skills, close cohabitation also affects.

Outbreaks in Europe have not yet led to deaths, but they are not excluded, the lethality of various strains is from 0 to 11%. So far, there are no drugs effective enough for monkeypox.. The disease usually resolves on its own in 2-4 weeks, doctors prescribe maintenance therapy as necessary to relieve symptoms..

Prevention.

Experts are not worried about the spread of a new virus, because. the disease is easy to detect, it proceeds with obvious symptoms that allow you to quickly diagnose and isolate the sick person. In addition, the mortality from it is not so high.. You can get infected from another person only through close contact.. There is also a vaccine that was used in the 80s against ordinary smallpox, it is also effective against monkeypox. If such a need arises, it can be vaccinated with people surrounding a sick person, as well as medical personnel.. Now this vaccine is not produced, and WHO does not recommend mass vaccination against monkeypox, because. the virus is not so contagious, people get sick in small quantities: about 300 people in different countries of the world, not a single one in Russia.

However, preventive measures have already been taken: sanitary control on Russian borders has been strengthened since the end of May. You can get infected either through tourists or through animals brought to pet stores, and at the moment the risk is minimal.. As for the usual preventive measures,. social distancing, regular hand washing, masks, in the case of this disease, they are useless. Monkeypox cannot be contracted through short contact, it must be prolonged. Scientists reassure: the virus is not human, so now it cannot cause an epidemic, especially a pandemic.

Moreover, people over the age of 40 may not worry about their health, because. they were vaccinated back in Soviet times. Now there are about 70 million such Russians. , t.

we can say that approximately 50% of our population is vaccinated against this disease. This applies, first of all, to people over 43 years old, t. the last vaccination against smallpox was done in 1980. Experts advise not to be afraid, not to worry, the situation is under control. Even if there are sick people, their number, in the worst case, will not exceed a hundred people, and they will most likely recover quickly, like the rest who have had this disease..

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