The monkeypox virus is spreading rapidly in African countries, the figures presented by WHO are frightening.
Monkeypox virus infection is spreading rapidly all over the world. Now the World Health Organization (WHO) has presented the latest figure which is frightening. According to WHO data, its infection has spread in 27 countries in the last 20 days. At the same time, it has caught 780 people so far. The most worrying thing is that this virus has now started taking the lives of people. While nine people died of monkeypox this year in Congo, Nigeria has recorded the first death.
In the midst of the increasing threat of this dangerous virus, the Union Health Ministry also issued a guideline on 31 May. Let us inform you that not a single case of this disease has been reported in India so far. Still, the Indian government is taking precautions. The ministry has said in the guideline that a person infected with monkeypox will be monitored for 21 days.
The guideline also states that monitoring should be done daily for a period of 21 days after the last contact with a patient or their contaminated material during the infectious period. According to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health, if someone shows symptoms of monkeypox, then only after testing in the lab, the case of monkeypox will be considered confirmed. It has also been said in the guideline that only PCR or DNA testing will be valid for monkeypox.
According to health experts, this infection is caused by a virus called monkeypox. This virus belongs to the orthopoxvirus group. Other members of this group cause infections such as smallpox and cowpox in humans. According to the WHO, there are very few cases of monkeypox infection from one person to another. There is a possibility of transmission of infection to other people due to droplets released from sneezing and coughing of the infected person, skin sores of an infected person, or close contact with the infected person.
Vaccines used during the smallpox eradication program also provided protection against monkeypox. New vaccines have been developed, one of which has been approved for disease prevention. According to the global health body, an antiviral agent developed to treat smallpox has also been licensed to treat monkeypox.