MONKEY
POX VIRUS - SCI & TECH
News: Unraveling Monkeypox: An Emerging
Threat in Global Health
What's
in the news?
●
Health authorities in the United Kingdom
have confirmed a case of monkeypox, a rare viral infection similar to smallpox,
in an individual who recently travelled to that country from Nigeria.
What
is Monkeypox?
● Monkeypox is a zoonosis,
that is, a disease that is transmitted from infected animals to humans.
● Monkeypox
virus infection has been detected in squirrels, Gambian poached rats, dormice,
and some species of monkeys.
Cause-
Monkeypox virus
● While
the natural reservoir of monkeypox remains unknown, African rodents and monkeys
are suspected of transmission and infection.
Occurrence:
● According
to the WHO, cases occur close to tropical rainforests inhabited by animals that
carry the virus.
● According
to the WHO, two distinct clades are identified
○ the
West African clade
○ the
Congo Basin clade (the Central African clade)
Transmission:
● Transmission
can occur through contact with bodily
fluids, lesions on the skin or on internal mucosal surfaces, such as in the
mouth or throat, respiratory droplets and contaminated objects.
● Human-to-human transmission
is limited and the longest documented chain of transmission is six generations
(meaning the last person to be infected in this chain was six links away from
the original sick person).