Since the beginning of May, a case of monkeypox has been detected in the United Kingdom and cases have been discovered in Spain, Italy, Belgium, France, Canada, the United States, Israel and even Brazil. This disease is therefore already present on several continents.
Monkeypox has already been identified in humans in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970. Even though it is a known virus, its rapid spread worries scientists and the WHO (“the extent of transmission is atypical” according to the WHO Director for Europe).
What are the means of transmission of this virus?
It is first transmitted from animals to humans, from human to human and is not very contagious. It would require a prolonged face to face contact, sweat droplets, direct contact with an infected person, through skin lesions of the disease, using infected objects. But scientists have not said whether the disease is sexually transmitted, although initial findings suggest that homosexuals and people with multiple partners would be more exposed to the disease.
Meanwhile, in Belgium, a 3-week confinement is planned for infected people to avoid spreading while a 21-day isolation is mandatory although the country has so far detected only 4 cases.
What are the symptoms of monkeypox?
The virus manifests itself through several symptoms: intense fatigue, back pain, muscle pain, intense headaches, fever, adenopathy (the pathological increase in the volume of a lymph node) or skin rashes on the face, palms of the hands, soles of the feet. The incubation period, according to WHO, is from 6 to 16 days, but it can also extend from 5 to 21 days. However, the disease heals spontaneously. The majority of deaths are among the youngest, children.