Facts about Monkey Pox

KEY FACTS ABOUT MONKEY POX

• Monkey pox virus is an orthpoxvirus which causes a viral symptomatic disease in humans known as human monkeypox and this is similar to the symptoms seen in smallpox patients (WHO update).
• With the world’s eradication of smallpox in 1980, regular cases of human monkeypox are reported in villages of Central and West Africa where there is frequent contact with animals including monkeys, Gambian giant rats, squirrels and other rodents.
• In 2003 the confirmed cases of monkeypox in the United States reported direct contact with ill prairie dogs housed or transported with African rodents.
• Case fatality in monkeypox outbreaks is between 1% - 10% with most deaths in younger age groups.
• No treatment or vaccine available although prior smallpox vaccine was considered to highly effective in preventing monkeypox.

  

  https://guardian.ng/news/bayelsa-steps-up-campaign-to-curb-spread-of-monkeypox-disease/

DYNAMICS OF MONKEY POX TRANSMISSION

• Human transmission is mainly through animal’s blood contact or bite from rodents such as squirrels to humans.
• Through direct contact with with infected person (Limited secondary transmission through person-to-person contact with symptoms lasting from 14 to 21 days).
• Eating raw and inadequately cooked meat of infected animals is a possible risk fact factor.
• Human-to-animal transmission remains unknown.
• The latency period is also unknown in terms of transmission of the virus during such period.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

• Monkeypox has an average human incubation period of 12 days but can range from 5 to 21 days.
• Infection period is divided into invasive period (0-5 days) and skin eruption period (within1-3 days after the onset of fever).
• The disease is characterized by a vesicular skin rash similar to that of smallpox and chickenpox. During the first week of rash, the disease is highly infections.
• Symptoms include fever, weakness of the body, headache, sweats, painful jaw swelling, intense asthenia (lack of energy) and lymphadenopathy.
• The distinctive feature of monkey pox compared to other similar diseases is lymphadenopathy which may be severely developed before the appearance of the rash.

PREVENTION

• Avoid exposure to the natural host of the virus such as rodents, infected animals and humans.
• Avoid keeping wild animals as pets most especially prairie dogs and wild mice or rats.
• Cook all animal products such as blood and meat before eating.
• Deter some high risk behaviors such as eating animal carcasses found in the forest.
• Awareness creation on the risk factors of monkeypox.
• Public health education improves disease-specific knowledge and encourages individuals to seek medical advice from health workers.
• Smallpox vaccine is only recommended for persons involved with monkeypox outbreak investigations or carers of the infected people or animals.
  

2017 Nigeria outbreak of Monkey Pox

On 22nd September, 2017, a case of Monkeypox viral disease was reported from the Niger Delta University a Teaching a hospital, NDUTH, Okolobiri, Bayelsa State by Nigerian Centre for Disease Control. The Minister of State for Health, Osagie Ehanire has reported an outbreak of monkeypox virus in Nigeria with 94 suspected cases reported from 11 states namely Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Rivers and Federal Capital Territory.

World Health Organisation’s laboratory in Senegal has confirmed so far 12 cases in Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Enugu and Abuja. Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) claimed to have deployed Rapid Response Teams to the four states with confirmed cases.

No death has been recorded so far.

REFERENCES

1. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs161/en/
2. http://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/FastFacts/pdfs/monkeypox_F.pdf
3. http://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0001356
4. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0001356
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3291353/
6. http://thenationonlineng.net/fed-govt-no-monkey-pox-virus-injection/
7. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/10/coping-monkey-pox-outbreak/
8. http://dailypost.ng/2017/10/12/monkeypox-nigerian-government-denies-vaccination-south-east/
9. https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1134714-overview
10. https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/