Local officials have recently released an alarming warning as a monkeypox outbreak continues ravaging the Democratic Republic of Congo region.
An Express News report said, specifically, the Maniema government declared the outbreak in the region after more than 190 monkeypox cases have been recorded thus far and 24 fatalities since late September.
Essentially, monkeypox is an extraordinary or rare zoonosis that occasionally occurs in forested places of Central and West Africa. It is a so-called "orthopoxvirus" that can lead to a deadly disease.
Symptoms of this illness are akin to smallpox in humans, eradicated since 1980 even though human monkeypox is less severe. In addition, such symptoms typically resolve from 14 to 21 days, and treatment, medical experts claim, is supportive.
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Medical staff wearing protective equipment enter the quarantine area of the center of the International medical NGO Doctors Without Borders (Medecins sans Frontieres - MSF), in Zomea Kaka, in the Lobaya region, in the Central African Republic.
Transmission of the Virus
Monkeypox, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids, blood, and cutaneous or mucosal lesions of an infected animal like a rat, monkey, chimpanzee, dormice, or squirrel, among others.
Secondary transmission between humans is limited, although it can occur through exposure to respiratory droplets, contact with infected individuals, or contaminated materials.
Last month, the International Health Regulations National Focal Point of the United States of America told the World Health Organization (WHO) that an imported case of monkeypox in humans in Maryland, USA. The person was in Lagos, Nigeria, when he initially developed a rash.
It was the second time an imported monkeypox case involving a human was identified in a traveler to the US. The first case reported and recorded was a traveler from Nigeria in July this year.
Monkeypox Outbreak in Nigeria Since 2017
A monkeypox outbreak has been taking place in Nigeria since 2017. However, outbreaks have also been reported in nine other nations in central and western Africa since 1970, New York Times Post said in a similar report.
The countries include the Central African Republic, Cameron, Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Gabon, Sudan, and Sierra Leone.
The vast majority of cases have been documented in the DRC, which has more than 2,700 cases and 72 deaths reported from January 1 until October this year.
In May 2021, a case was reported in the United Kingdom when the WHO was alerted that one laboratory confirmed a case of monkeypox.
The said patient arrived in the UK in early May and left Nigeria prior to arrival in Britain. The patient remained in quarantine with family because of COVID-19 restrictions, and after a few days, began developing a rash on the face.
Treating and Preventing the Virus
To date, the monkeypox virus infection has no proven safe treatment. However, to mitigate a monkeypox outbreak in the US, the smallpox vaccine, vaccinia immune globulin o VIG, and antivirals can be used.
The CDC also said this virus can be prevented by avoiding contact with possibly infected animals, including those that are ill or have been found dead in places where monkeypox exists.
One can also prevent such an infection by avoiding contact or touching materials like bedding that have been in contact with an infected animal.
Households with infected members should have the patients isolated from others who could be at risk for contagion.
Lastly, like how everyone does it to protect themselves from COVID-19, practicing good hand hygiene following contact with infected humans or animals could help prevent contracting the virus.
Related information about the monkeypox virus is shown on CDCFoundation's YouTube video below:
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