What is Monkey Pox
While mankind is fighting with the deathly SARS COVID-19 virus and it's variants, there raised another viral disease which had been inactivated decade ago. Basically, Monkeypox is a type of zoonotic viral - that reached to human through animals - caused by a double-stranded DNA virus of Orthopoxvirus genus type - family Potyviridae - that is known as monkeypox. It is a self-limited disease which symptoms are similar to that of the eradicated smallpox - eradicated in 1980 thankful to the extensive vaccination drive initiated by WHO - that last for 3 to 4 weeks, and also less severe and fatal than the smallpox. Host Animals of the virus are few rodents and monkeys of tropical forest. As per WHO reports, fatality ratio stands 3 - 6 percents.
How can it transmitted to human
Unlike COVID, monkeypox is carried to human through direct or close contact to an infectious person or animal or any material already contaminated with the virus, It means that lesions, respiratory droplets, body fluids and contaminated material like bedding are the few most likely transmission medium need precautions.
What cure is suggested by WHO
So far, the publications of WHO have suggested that medication and vaccines used against smallpox are very effective for this viral, however further researches are also in progress in order to study its recent outbreak samples. WHO, moving ahead, allowed all antiviral medicines developed for smallpox for cure of monkeypox. In fact, this disease is not new to the health care system as its first outbreak was recorded in 1970 in Democratic Republic of Congo but remained limited to Central and West Africa.
Is this virus has any pandemic tendency
I would like to explain it by featuring it multiple aspects that will relieve our stress about this virus.
First, it is not similar to COVID in any aspect like transmission, fatality rate and rate of propagation. So we should think it in this way, although it is a disease caused by virus but of different gene and family which has extremely low harmfulness in comparison to SARS COVID virus.
Its fatality rates are far less than that of SARS COVID and even smallpox itself. It means this can be cured easily and rapidly. Furthermore, its expected lifetime is very low, that is 3 - 4 weeks.
Transmission mediums in this case are easily control able. Furthermore, it is a tropical forest centric disease which has very rare cases in other part of the world. In addition to this, host animals, monkeys and rodents, movements can be restricted or affected area can be confiscated rapidly.
Lastly, this virus is not new to us, as it had early out break history, and fortunately we have vaccines and antiviral agents against this gene and family of virus which would save our time and efforts in order to control or limited it propagation.
In my opinion, SARS COVID and it's variant is far the most challenging virus for mankind as it is continuously changing its genome and forming different variant and playing havoc all around the world. So all efforts and focus must be placed there to curtail its further propagation and loss of human life.
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