What you need to know ? A new outbreak of monkeypox has been recorded in Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) has already declared the epidemic an international emergency. Press tells us how dangerous monkeypox is and how it is transmitted.

What happened ?

The new epidemic began with an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Then the disease spread to neighboring Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. According to WHO, more than 15,000 cases of infection have been recorded in Africa since the beginning of the year - more than last year.

The infection has managed to seep beyond the African continent. Thus, on August 15, the first case of smallpox of monkeys was registered in Sweden. According to the country's authorities, the infection occurred during a stay in Africa. Three days later, the disease was reported in the Philippines.

This prompted WHO to declare the situation an emergency. The last time such status was declared during the outbreak of smallpox in 2022 and during the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, monkeypox is not dangerous for Russia, Rospotrebnadzor head Anna Popova said on August 19. She noted that the country has everything to detect monkeypox. According to her, three cases of imported smallpox were recorded in the past period, but the disease was detected in time and prevented from spreading.

The head of Rospotrebnadzor also added that Russia is not afraid of this disease.

How monkeypox is transmitted

Monkeypox is a rare viral disease. People with weakened immunity are most susceptible to it. The infection is often transmitted from person to person, through objects and surfaces touched by the sick person, as well as sexually - through same-sex sexual contacts, less often through heterosexual ones.

Another way of transmission is through animal bites and eating contaminated meat if it is poorly processed. If infection occurs during pregnancy, the virus can be transmitted to the fetus.

Symptoms of monkeypox

The infection is accompanied by a skin rash in the form of spots that soon turn into blisters. Most rashes are formed on the face, hands and feet. After on the body there are small scars, which over time are leveled.

Often with the disease there is an increase in lymph nodes and fever. The patient may also complain of weakness, headache and muscle pain. If mild, the disease usually lasts from 14 to 21 days.

Treatment of monkeypox

There is no specific treatment for monkeypox, and in mild cases, no medications other than antihistamines are used at all. Nevertheless, monkeypox is considered extremely dangerous for humans, mainly because of serious complications. The disease can lead to secondary bacterial infection, blood poisoning and brain inflammation.

Therefore, in case of infection, the patient is hospitalized in an infectious disease hospital. If this is not possible, the treatment is carried out at home with a ban on going outdoors until full recovery.

Prevention of monkeypox

Vaccination is considered the best protection against infection. However, because the monkeypox virus is subject to mutation, this method does not provide a hundred percent guarantee. To protect yourself, it is important to avoid visiting countries where the virus is found, and carefully handle food of animal origin. It is also important to consider that promiscuous relationships can lead to the disease, even if contraception is used.

Sweden reports first case of severe monkeypox infection outside Africa. The first case of severe monkeypox, also known as Mpox Clade I, has been detected outside Africa for the first time. This is reported on Thursday, August 15, on the website of the Swedish Ministry of Health.

“A person became infected while staying in a part of Africa where Mpox Clade I continues to spread. He was given the necessary assistance,” - stated in the message.

It is known that the infected person sought emergency treatment in Stockholm due to poor health. It is specified that this is the first officially registered case of infection with this strain of smallpox of monkeys outside Africa.

According to the Swedish Ministry, the characteristic symptoms of Mpox Clade I infection are not outwardly different from ordinary monkeypox: a person feels very sick and pus lesions appear on his body. However, the new strain is known to spread much more easily between people through normal contact.

Also, The first case of monkeypox infection has been confirmed in Turkey, Health Ministry head Fahrettin Kocia said on Twitter.

“Monkeypox has been detected in one of our patients. The patient is 37 years old, has an immune system deficiency. He is in isolation. Dynamic surveillance has been carried out, no other cases have been detected,” he wrote, emphasizing that the disease is transmitted through close physical contact and not by airborne droplets.

Kocia did not specify in which city in Turkey a case of infection was registered.

Monkeypox began spreading outside Africa in May this year. The UK was the first to report cases of infection. The virus was detected in an airplane passenger from Nigeria. Later, other countries, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, USA, Georgia, South Korea and others, reported cases of infection.

No infections with the virus have been registered in Russia so far. Rospotrebnadzor considers the probability of monkeypox importation to be low.

The WHO considered that this monkeypox outbreak is not a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). According to the organization, as of June 22, 3,413 cases of infection have been reported in 50 countries since the beginning of the year.