Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe.
Risk population:- Anyone especially children and younger people
Causative Organism:- Double stranded DNA virus of Orthopox virus genus and Poxviridae family. Phylogenetically two clades have been identified; Central African Clade & West African Clade.
Central African Clade is more severe, transmissible and has 10% fatality and West African Clade has 1% fatality.
Source of Transmission:- Infected animal, human, belonging of infected.
Mode of Transmission:
- Zoonotic Transmission (Animal to Human)
o Direct contact, bite or scratch
o Indirect from body fluids, cutaneous, mucosal lesion.
- Human to Human Transmission
o Limited
o Respiratory secretion, skin lesion of infected
o Contaminated belongings of infected
o Fetal
Incubation Period:- 6 – 13 days (5 – 21 days*)
Infection Lasts 2 – 4 weeks, 2 period:
- Invasion period 0-5 days
o Fever
o Intense headache
o Lymphadenopathy
o Back pain
o Bodyache
o Asthenia
- Skin Eruption period
o 1 – 3 days of appearance of fever
o Rash mainly face, extremities rather on trunk
o Also affect mucous membrane (oral), genitalia, conjunctiva, cornea
o Rash evolves sequentially from macules (flat base) papules (slight elevated & firm lesion) vesicles (lesion filled with clear fluid), Pustules (lesions filled with pus which becomes dry and sheds off)
o Number of lesions vary from few to several thousand
Treatment:- Monkey pox is usually self limited disease.
- Symptoms last 2 – 4 weeks
Complication & Severity:- Complications of MP usually are secondary in nature.
- Bronchopneumonia, sepsis, encephalitis, infection of cornea.
Prevention is better than cure.
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