Editorial Note on Monkeypox Virus

Description

Monkeypox is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus that can affect certain animals and people. Symptoms begin with fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, and malaise. Followed by a rash that forms blisters and scabs. It takes about 10 days from exposure to symptoms to onset. Symptoms usually last 2 to 5 weeks.

Monkeypox can be transmitted through bushmeat, animal bites and scratches, body fluids, handling of contaminated objects, or close contact with an infected person. The virus is usually thought to circulate among certain rodents in Africa. Diagnosis can be confirmed by testing for viral DNA lesions. The disease can resemble chickenpox. Smallpox vaccine is supposed to prevent infection.

The disease mainly occurs in Central and West Africa. It was first identified in experimental monkeys in 1958. The first human case was detected in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970. The 2003 outbreak in the United States dates back to pet shops selling rodents imported from Ghana.

Cause

Monkeypox virus causes illness in both humans and animals. It was first identified in 1958 as the pathogen of the crab monkey used as an experimental animal. Cynomolgus monkeys are often used in neurological experiments. Monkeypox virus is an orthopox virus that is a genus of the family Poxviridae, including other types of viruses that target mammals. The virus mainly occurs in the rainforest regions of Central and West Africa.

The virus was first discovered in monkeys in 1958 and in humans in 1970. More than 400 human cases were reported between 1970 and 1986. Outbreaks of small viruses with a mortality rate of around 10% and a human-to-human secondary infection rate are routine in equatorial Central and West Africa. The main route of infection is believed to be contact with infected animals or their body fluids. The first reported outbreaks outside of the African Continent occurred in the United States in 2003, in the Midwestern states of Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and in New Jersey. The outbreak dates back to prairie dogs infected with imported Gambian possums.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis can be demonstrated by testing for the virus. The virus does not remain very long in the blood. Test results interpreted collectively with scientific features.

Prevention

Vaccination towards smallpox is assumed to provide protection against human monkeypox infection, due to the fact they're closely related viruses and the vaccine protects animals from experimental deadly monkeypox challenge. This has now no longer been conclusively established in humans, because routine smallpox vaccination was discontinued following the apparent eradication of smallpox and owing to safety concerns with the vaccine.

Treatment

Currently, the treatment of monkeypox has not been shown to be effective or safe. Various measures can be taken to reduce the spread of the disease, such as smallpox vaccine, cidofovir, and vaccinia immunoglobulin.