As the United Kingdom strives to battle against Covid-19pandemic, another rare viral infection ‘Monkeypox’ has left health officials scratchingtheir heads.
As of now, two people have contracted Monkeypox in the UK andhave been hospitalized for treatment. According to the Public Health Wales(PHW), one of the infected contracted the virus while abroad and the other belongsto the same family.
Both the infected persons had shown symptoms like fever,pains, and a scabby rash. Both Public Health Wales and Public Health England arekeeping a check on the health of the hospitalized victims.
According to Richard Firth, PHW’s health protection consultantsaid, “Confirmed cases if a monkeypox is a rare event in the UK and the risk tothe general public is very low. We have worked with multi-agency colleagues,following tried and tested protocols and procedures, and identified all closecontact.”
“Actions have been put in place to mitigate the likelihoodof further spread of infection,” Firth added.
What is monkeypox?
In 39 years, the first case of this rare viral infectionwas reported in 2017 in Nigeria. Since then there have been dispersive cases of infection in Nigeria.
Monkeypox is zoonotic and belongs to the same family assmallpox and is not as infectious as smallpox.
Primarily, monkeypox is communicated to humans from wild animals including rats and monkeys. However, it can also be transmittedfrom person to person. According to the reports, it is plausible that nearly atenth of the population infected with Monkeypox will die.
What are the symptoms of monkeypox?
After the 12 days of catching the virus, one canexperience, fever, headache, muscle aches, and tiredness. Infected with a rareviral infection, one may start feeling feverish after the 3 days of the contactfollowed by extreme itching and rashes all over the body. Severe itching canlead to certain changes on the skin which include healing, forming a scab, andthen falls off. Also, there are chances that these scabs can leave scars on theinfected areas.
One can experience all these symptoms and illness for 2to 4 weeks which gradually lowers down on its own.