The World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared monkeypox, a highly contagious virus, a public-health emergency in the middle of August due to an outbreak of the virus in several African countries.
Monkeypox is part of the same family of viruses that causes smallpox. The virus is split into two clades, clade I and clade II. These two versions of the virus offer very different problems, with clade I resulting in death for 10% of those infected, and clade II being much more transmissible, but far less fatal. However, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the virus continues to change. A new clade which researchers call Ib has emerged which appears to spread through sexual contact, raising another level of concern for its infectivity.
Monkeypox, which originated from a group of captive primates 50 years ago, is different from a virus like the coronavirus which was never researched before it surfaced in 2019. Outbreaks of monkeypox have appeared in Africa in the past, but this recent outbreak has not fizzled out like the rest.
With the different levels of risk and transmission emerging, concerns have risen about the virus’s potential to spread worldwide and be a potential pandemic. Cases of Mpox have been reported in Thailand and Sweden as well as spreading to the America’s with thousands of cases being reported in Brazil and the US.
“I had a bad case of chickenpox when I was younger and it was terrible. I have heard of monkeypox and it really scares me” NHS Senior John Barzetti said.
The highly contagious virus has warranted some comparisons to Covid-19 with its highly transmissible nature and tendency to split into multiple strains. While the situation sounds alarmingly similar to what we heard in early 2020 with Covid-19s spread, the viruses have a few key differences.
For one, monkeypox is far less common than coronavirus was at the beginning of its outbreak, and is far more difficult to transmit compared to Covid-19. monkeypox is spread from being in close and prolonged contact with someone with symptoms, so while mpox is still very contagious, it is much less contagious than Covid-19.
On the other hand, coronavirus is far more transmissible; monkeypox is much more deadly with harsher symptoms. The main symptoms of monkeypox include a painful and itchy cluster of pimples, blisters and rash that can be located on the hands, feet, chest, face, mouth and genitals. Other symptoms include fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, exhaustion, muscle aches and backache, and respiratory symptoms.
“I just do not see the comparison. Coronavirus is airborne and spreads far easier than monkeypox which only comes from close contact” NHS Senior Nathaniel Crone said when asked about how monkeypox’s spread compared to Coronavirus.
Symptoms typically start within 21 days of exposure and transmission. However, the virus can occur when one is asymptomatic, making the virus undetectable. If symptoms do become present, it is best to isolate yourself from others and cover any rashes or blisters and avoid any physical contact much like one would do when preventing the spread of coronavirus.
Following the declaration of the virus as a public emergency, the World Health Organization plans to actively work on a response plan to the outbreak from September until February 2025, costing a total funding of $135 million. WHO launched an international Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) and hosted a response conference to align global research efforts to combat the spread of the virus. These preparations include global and regional efforts to survey the virus, minimizing transmission, and efforts to empower communities to participate in outbreak prevention.
“I do not know too much about monkeypox, but it seems like the World Health Organization is handling this situation much better than they did with coronavirus” NHS Senior Marc Maurath said.
As well as surface level prevention, WHO is assisting and accelerating testing vaccines to treat monkeypox in the affected areas, with treatment being focused on those at the highest risk and those in close proximity to the virus to try and break up the transmission chain.
While monkeypox’s outbreak seems very similar to coronavirus’s spread, the virus is far more under control than coronavirus and should not be something to stress about in your day-to-day life in Connecticut.
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