Updated:05/20/2022 12:22h
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Health has alerted the Autonomous Communities of eight possible cases of monkeypox in Madrid that are being analyzed at the National Center for Microbiology. It is a rare disease of the smallpox family that recently entered Europe with several cases in the United Kingdom, some of them following a trip to Nigeria, where the disease is endemic, but not all.
How is it transmitted?
Monkeypox can be transmitted by contact and droplet exposure, that is, through saliva or respiratory excretions, or by contact with exudate from the lesion or crusting material. Viral excretion through faeces may also represent another source of exposure.
[La viruela del mono no es una enfermedad que afecte solo a hombres homosexuales]
The incubation period for monkeypox is usually 6 to 13 days, but can range from 5 to 21 days. The disease, which has no treatment, is often self-limited, and symptoms usually resolve spontaneously within 14 to 21 days.
What are the symptoms?
In humans, the symptoms of monkeypox are similar to the symptoms of smallpox, although somewhat milder. They start with fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, chills and exhaustion. The main difference between the symptoms of smallpox and monkeypox is that the latter causes the lymph nodes to swell (lymphadenopathy), while the former does not.
It’s normal to develop a rash, which often starts on the face and then spreads to other parts of the body, particularly the hands and feet. After a while, the rash changes and goes through different stages before forming a crust and finally falling off.
Monkeypox in humans: cases in Spain, how it is spread, symptoms and effects on health
Symptoms can be mild or severe, and lesions can be very itchy or painful. The animal reservoir remains unknown, although available data suggests it could be African rodents.
Risk factor’s
Contact with live and dead animals through hunting and consumption of game or bushmeat are known risk factors.
The monkeypox virus is capable of infecting squirrels, rats, mice, monkeys, prairie dogs, and humans.
Two variants with different lethality
There are two clades of the monkeypox virus, the West African clade y the Congo Basin clade (Central Africa). Although the West African clade of monkeypox virus infection sometimes leads to severe illness in some people, the illness is usually self-limited.
It has been documented that the case fatality rate for the clade of west africais about 1%while for the clade of the Congo Basin may reach 10%. Children are also at higher risk, and monkeypox during pregnancy can lead to complications, congenital monkeypox, or stillbirth.
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