MONKEY POX - SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

News: ‘Substantial’ pre-symptomatic monkeypox spread found

What's in the news?

       There is now more evidence for pre-symptomatic transmission of monkeypox virus.

       A study published recently in BMJ, which involves a larger cohort, found that pre-symptomatic transmission had taken place as long as four days before symptoms manifested.

       The researchers have estimated that 53% of monkeypox virus transmission have occurred during the pre-symptomatic phase.

Key takeaways:

       Pre-symptomatic transmission of monkeypox virus will mean that many infections cannot be prevented by simply isolating people showing symptoms.

       Also, the effectiveness of contact tracing and subsequent quarantine will not be sufficient to break the transmission chain since by the time all the contacts have been traced, they might have already spread the virus to other people.

       Pre-symptomatic transmission has implications for vaccination strategies and the feasibility of disease elimination.

What is Monkeypox?

       Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease with symptoms similar to smallpox, although with less clinical severity.

       It was first discovered in 1958 in colonies of monkeys kept for research. Hence the name monkeypox.

       The monkeypox virus comes from the same family of viruses as smallpox, belonging to the orthopoxvirus genus in the family poxviridae.

Transmission:

       It is transmitted to humans through close contact with an infected person or animal, or with material contaminated with the virus.

       Normally, the virus is spread from one person to another by close contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding.

       The viral zoonotic disease that occurs primarily in tropical rainforest areas of central and west Africa and is occasionally exported to other regions.

       The clinical presentation of monkeypox resembles that of smallpox, a related orthopoxvirus infection that was declared eradicated worldwide in 1980.

       Monkeypox is less contagious than smallpox and causes less severe illness.

Symptoms:

       According to the WHO, monkeypox is usually a self-limited disease with the symptoms lasting from two to four weeks. Severe cases can occur.

       The symptoms of the disease are fever, rashes and swollen lymph nodes, which may lead to a range of medical complications.

       In recent times, the case fatality ratio has been around 3–6 per cent.