The monkey pox virus is a milder version of the smallpox virus that was eliminated with vaccinations in 1980. But it has nothing to do with chicken pox, experts say.
- The carriers of the monkey pox virus are African squirrels, rats and other animals
- The smallpox vaccine protects more than 85 percent. against monkey pox
- More current information can be found on the Onet homepage.
COVID-19 expert of the Supreme Medical Council, Dr. Paweł Grzesiowski explains on Twitter that the monkey pox virus is orthopoxvirus, which is a milder version of the smallpox virus eliminated by vaccination in 1980. Its carriers are African squirrels, rats, various species of monkeys and other animals . “A sick person infects through contact with body fluids, skin lesions, and pharyngeal secretions” – he adds.
The specialist explains that the monkey pox virus is related to the human pox virus, therefore the vaccine against this smallpox protects more than 85 percent. against monkey pox (according to data from Africa). “Research on a specific vaccine against monkey pox is ending, because we have not vaccinated against human pox for 42 years” – he emphasizes.
Dr. Paweł Grzesiowski points out that varicella (chickenpox) has little more to do with smallpox and monkeypox, apart from a similar name. “They are completely different families of viruses, and the chickenpox vaccination does not protect against smallpox and monkeys,” he explains.
Prof. Krzysztof Pyrć, a virologist from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, assures on Twitter that the monkey pox virus is poorly transmitted between people. He admits, however, that vaccination against smallpox protects against it to a large extent. The mortality rate from monkey pox can be as high as 10 percent.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that monkey pox is found in Central and West Africa. Most cases are detected in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The published data show that for many years the number of infections with this pathogen in Africa, especially in the DRC, has increased to a small extent, but systematically.
As late as 1970-79, only 38 cases of monkey pox infections were registered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the years 1980-1989, there were already 343, from 1990 to 1999 – 511, in the first decade of the 10th century – over 2010 thousand, and in 2019-18 – as many as 788 2010. In other African countries only single infections were recorded . For example, in 2019-181 there were 6 infections with monkey pox, and in Liberia – XNUMX.
In the UK, the first case of monkey pox was detected on May 7 in a patient who returned from Nigeria, where he most likely became infected. In Europe, further infections were reported in Sweden, Italy, France and Belgium. It is not known how the patient became infected in Sweden. In Italy it was reported that the patient treated there could contract the infection during his stay in the Canary Islands. There have also been 13 reported monkey pox infections in Canada, the USA and Australia.
The most common symptoms of a monkey pox infection are fever, headache, back pain, muscle pain, enlarged lymph nodes, and a rash similar to chickenpox. (PAP)
Author: Zbigniew Wojtasiński
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