A MONKEYPOX survivor provided insight as the US faced the latest outbreak of the virus.
Cases have been confirmed in the US, UK, Portugal and Italy, while possible cases are under investigation in Canada and Spain.
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However, nearly 20 years ago, Wisconsin had its own outbreak, and these new cases hold painful memories for the survivor, Dr. Kurt Zaeske.
In 2003, he was a veterinarian who came into contact with the virus from a prairie dog he was treating.
“Within about 48 hours of handling that specimen, I got sick,” he told WISN.
Zaeske developed lesions similar to chickenpox and suffered from nausea, dizziness and high fever.
“I started getting a blister on my thumb that didn’t look right, didn’t act right,” he said in 2003 after being quarantined for two weeks.
At the time, cases had sprung up across the state, prompting health officials to warn the public. At that time Dr. Milwaukee Health Commissioner Seth Foldy.
“Direct contact with the monkeypox skin lesion can transmit the virus,” he said in 2003.
In the US, 71 cases of monkeypox were reported in 2003, and 39 of those cases were in Wisconsin alone.
Nearly two decades later, not a single case of the virus has been reported in the state, but officials said they would be ready if the disease returned.
“This is not something that is completely unknown to us. There’s a process in the state of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Health Department on how to manage the communicable disease, monkeypox being one, and we’re willing to manage it,” said current health commissioner Kirsten Johnson.
Zaeske thinks the public is better prepared now than 19 years ago.
“We didn’t know what was going to happen (then),” he said.
One case of monkeypox has been confirmed in Massachusetts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A possible case was reported at Bellevue Hospital in New York City.
“We are investigating a possible case of monkey pox in NYC,” reads a tweet from the @nycHealthy account.
“Our Public Health Lab will conduct preliminary tests, which – if positive – will be sent to @CDCgov for confirmatory testing.
“The department’s epidemiologists will contact any person who may have come into contact with the patient while he was contagious,” reads a statement of the Ministry of Health and Hygiene in the state.
MONKEYPOX SYMPTOMS
There are two main strains of the virus: the Congo strain, which has a 10 percent mortality rate, and the West African strain, which has only a one percent mortality rate.
Spots often start on the face before spreading to other parts of the body, experts say.
The disease is a viral infection, similar to smallpox, but milder.
The rash mainly affects the face (95 percent of cases) and hands (75 percent), according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
During the illness, the rash changes from raised red bumps to fluid-filled patches.
The spots eventually erupt and form crusts that later fall off.
The infection causes two periods of illness. In the first phase, up to five days, patients may experience:
- A high temperature – 38C or higher.
- Headache
- muscle strain
- Backache
- Swollen glands
- Chills
- Exhaustion
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