You monkeypox symptoms have a great similarity with the well-known human smallpox, which was a very common infection by the virus orthopoxvirus that was declared eradicated worldwide in 1980 after the vaccine.
Find out what the main symptoms of Monkeypox are and find out what are the possible treatments
To understand how monkeypox works, cases and other information, read this article and find out about the latest information on symptoms and treatment of the disease.
What is monkeypox?
A typical viral zoonosis, monkeypox, is transmitted by animals to humans through contacts with dna from these animals contaminated by the Orthopoxvirus genus of the Poxviridae family.
Although the name of this disease is monkeypox, it is very important to know that transmission occurs mainly from rodents common in certain regions of Africa, and not from monkeys.
And yes, currently transmission already occurs from person to person and this is what happens in Brazil today, and the main ones occur through injuries or respiratory secretions, sexual intercourse and sharing contaminated material between individuals.
Understand what symptoms of monkeypox?
There are some main symptoms that manifest in humans and are very similar to common smallpox, these symptoms require immediate care and are:
- Muscle and body aches;
- Weakness;
- Enlarged lymph nodes;
- Tiredness;
- Very high fever;
- Skin lesions, blisters that appear on the face and genitals;
- Skin that itches a lot and hurts;
Sexual practices increase risk of transmission: Understand
It is important to emphasize that the disease is transmitted through close contact with an infected person, especially if there is contact with these lesions. It is also possible to contract the virus through respiratory secretions, body fluids, or objects, tissues and surfaces used by the individual infected with monkeypox.
And infectologists are observing that intimate contact, which is prolonged during sexual activities, increases the transmission of the disease.
A study of New England Journal of Medicinewhich analyzed samples from more than 520 infections in 16 countries, from April to June 2022, indicates that in 95% of cases the virus was transmitted through “sexual activity”.
Oral, anal and vaginal sex, in addition to touching genitals (penis, testicles, labia and vagina) or anus of a person with the disease. Since the lesions can also be present in other regions of the body, such as the arms and legs, the condom is not enough to avoid contagion.
Remembering that kissing, massage and hand-to-hand sports can also promote direct contact with wounds and transmit the disease in a simpler way.
How does the disease “begin” to manifest itself?
It starts around three weeks after exposure to the virus. Symptoms related to fever, chills, enlarged lymph nodes, muscle aches, headache, tiredness and weakness, in addition to respiratory symptoms, such as nasal congestion and cough, are common.
Between 1 and 3 days after the onset of these symptoms, the first skin lesions appear.
Learn how to prevent:
Take measures to sanitize materials that you are going to use in unfamiliar environments, use gel alcohol in your hands. Avoid crowds, after all it is difficult to distinguish who may or may not be contaminated with smallpox and remembering that cases of covid 19 also continue to happen.
However, hygienic measures are also more important to avoid contamination with other viruses such as Covid 19 and also monkeypox.
You suspect that you have monkeypox: what to do?
Get in touch with the nearest medical center or health center in your neighborhood, especially if symptoms evolve, to rule out infections that are major complications. After confirming the case, you should avoid contact with people and quarantine in isolation, in order to avoid contamination.
Treatment
Antipyretics and analgesics, remedies for muscle pain, which must be defined according to each case by the professional. Bearing in mind that monkeypox does not yet have a defined treatment.
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