Monkeypox

Monkey pox vesicles in a hand

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Monkey pox vesicles in a hand

Ciara Dirr, Staff Writer

Monkeypox cases have been spreading everywhere around the globe. There are 26,577 cases in the United States alone! Here is some helpful information about the virus we have all heard about.

 

How does Monkeypox spread? Monkeypox spreads with close contact like coughing and sneezing…basically the same way Covid spreads. Even hugging someone who has it, can give you the disease. The first reported case was in Portugal on May 17, 2022 and the first case in the U.S. was two days later on May 19, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. Monkeypox was originally discovered in 1985.

How did Monkeypox gets its name? The name comes from the discovery of the virus in monkeys in a Danish lab in 1958, as said before. This happened before WHO (the world health organization) adopted its current method for naming viruses and diseases. But Jeremy Faust who is an emergency medicine physician in Boston and an instructor in emergency medicine at Harvard, suggested calling it opoxid-22 because it was shorter.

What does a Monkeypox rash look like? They are firm or rubbery, well-circumscribed, deep-sealed and often develop umbilication witch is a dot on the top of the lesion, People might only have 1 or 2 bumps . These bumps can look like a blister, a pus filled bump or open sore. even with a few bumps, the rash can be really painful. Some people seek medical treatment for the rash because it can be really painful.

Monkeypox symptoms to look out for.

  • Fever
  • Chills
  • Swollen lymph nodes
  • Exhaustion
  • Muscle aches and backache
  • Headache
  • Respiratory symptoms ( e.g. sore throat,nasal congestion, or cough)

If you use treatment for smallpox on Monkeypox, it could help with the disease: but other than that, there is no real treatment that can take Monkeypox away so if you have it you should try to isolate from people for some time. Mostly recommended is to quarantine for two to four weeks.

Facts about the Monkeypox outbreak 

  1. Monkeypox is less contagious and less dangerous than COVID-19
  2. The Jynneos vaccine for monkeypox is safe and effective
  3. The Monkeypox outbreak reflects the continued underlying disinvestment in public health infrastructure revealed by COVID-19
  4. Efforts to prevent the spread of Monkeypox globally are here to control the U.S outbreak.