Viruses and epidemics have plagued us in the past. However, there is a ‘current king' in Nigeria referred to as “Monkey pox”. Contrary to the general believe in Nigeria, this is not ‘a new curse by the gods' or something of that sort. It is not also a scam by Nigerian government officials to loot money by claiming they are trying to cure a disease they have fictitiously created. In case you are not aware, this is not a new disease and it wasn’t created by Nigerians.
What is this Monkey pox?
Monkeypox is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. The disease was first identified in laboratory monkeys, hence its name, but in its natural state it seems to infect rodents more often than primates. The disease originates from Central and West Africa. An outbreak that occurred in the United States in 2003 was traced to a pet store where imported Gambian pouched rats were sold. The first recorded human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo during a period of intensified effort to eliminate smallpox. There were also reports of cases in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
In humans, monkeypox is similar to smallpox, although it is often milder. Vaccination against smallpox is assumed to provide protection against human monkeypox infection considering they are closely related viruses and the vaccine protects animals from experimental lethal monkeypox challenge.In May, 2003, a young child became ill with fever and rash after being bitten by a prairie dog purchased at a local swap meet near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In total, 71 cases of monkeypox were reported through June 20, 2003. All cases were traced to Gambian rats imported by a Texas exotic animal distributor, from Accra, Ghana in April, 2003. No deaths resulted. Electron microscopy and serologic studies were used to confirm that the disease was human monkeypox.
The contention now is How deadly is the disease/virus ?
The honest truth is; compared to other epidemics that we've witnessed or experienced in the past, such as; HIV, Ebola, small pox,etc. the monkey pox isn't deadly. In fact, victims of the disease rarely die from the virus. However, this doesn’t mean that measures shouldn’t be taken to prevent and eradicate the virus from causing harm.
Patients typically experienced prodromal symptoms of fever, headaches, muscle aches, chills, and drenching sweats. Roughly one-third of patients had nonproductive coughs. This prodromal phase was followed 1–10 days later by the development of a papular rash that typically progressed through stages of vesiculation, pustulation, umbilication, and crusting. In some patients, early lesions had become ulcerated. Rash distribution and lesions occurred on head, trunk, and extremities; many of the patients had initial and satellite lesions on palms, soles, and extremities.
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