Quite suddenly, several cases of monkeypox infections appear to have appeared in Great Britain, Lisbon and Madrid.
At first glance, this seems worrying, and many media outlets are fueling this by writing about “virus alarm” and “doctors on alert,” thus suggesting that a new, dangerous pandemic is heading our way. But in principle, doctors should only pay attention to whether these symptoms appear in patients so that they are not carelessly confused with a normal skin rash and are treated correctly.

Media panic

To the credit of most media, the articles themselves mostly write objectively about the monkeypox virus, but unfortunately many users don't even read an article or just skim it, instead judging by the teaser on social media - and then they are often designed to sound like scaremongering.

The media treatment of the monkeypox virus
The media treatment of the monkeypox virus

However, there can be no talk of a “virus alert” or “alert readiness”, although caution is advised as there are probably more cases than have been known so far, but for a simple reason: especially in western countries, With our current protective measures against COVID-19, our hygiene standards and the focus on combating the corona pandemic, a mild case of smallpox is rarely noticed.

Where does the monkeypox virus come from?

The name is misleading. It arose from the discovery of the virus in 1958, when monkeypox was first discovered in monkeys kept for research purposes, in which a smallpox-like disease broke out.

It is primarily a (mostly subclinical) disease of small African animals, including rodents (there are two distinct strains, in the Congo Basin and in West Africa). Like humans, monkeys sometimes become infected through small animals.

The virus is a smallpox virus that belongs to the same family as the variola virus , which caused smallpox before it was eradicated worldwide in 1980. The vaccinia virus , which was used as a vaccine to eradicate smallpox, also belongs to this family, and vaccination against smallpox also protects against monkeypox.

Unfortunately, for most people it has probably been too long since a smallpox vaccination (after all, as mentioned above, smallpox has been eradicated since 1980), so infections with the virus can also occur in this country.

How can you become infected with monkeypox?

People can become infected primarily through contact with the skin rashes, blood, tissue or excretions of infected animals and by handling the meat of diseased animals. Transmission from person to person is rare and only possible through close contact, but can occur through contact with body fluids or scabs from those infected with monkeypox (source: RKI ).

Some media emphasize that four of those infected in Great Britain are homosexual or bisexual men and that the virus was transmitted through homosexual intercourse. Although transmission of the virus through sexual contact has not yet been observed, it is not unusual since the smallpox virus, which is responsible for the usually benign disease Molluscum contagiosum , can also be transmitted through sexual intercourse.

The most likely route of spread is through close contact: touching skin or bedding or shared utensils.

What are the symptoms of an illness?

Typically, it is a mild illness that is spread through very close contact with an infected person and from which most people recover within a few weeks. In addition to a rash similar to chickenpox that begins on the mucous membranes and spreads from there, sufferers have the following symptoms :

  • Fever
  • Headache
  • Muscle aches
  • Back pain
  • Swollen lymph nodes
  • chills
  • exhaustion

A rash is usually visible 1 to 3 days after the fever begins, at which point medical attention should be sought. A typical illness lasts 2 to 4 weeks. In West Africa, the death rate for the variant that infected those infected is 1 in 100, but in this country it is likely to be much lower due to our medical care options.

Are there medications for an illness?

There are no specific treatments or vaccines for monkeypox. However, because the monkeypox virus is closely related to the virus that causes smallpox, a smallpox vaccination can also protect against infection with monkeypox. To treat severe cases, antivirals and blood from people vaccinated against smallpox can be used.

No need to worry!

Most scientists believe these outbreaks will be small and transmission will not be as strong as COVID-19, simply because the routes of transmission are more difficult. More cases will certainly appear now that specific attention is being paid to the monkeypox virus, but an endemic or even pandemic outbreak is very unlikely.

This is because monkeypox has difficulty spreading from person to person and relies on very close and long-term contact between people. A droplet infection through the air is also possible, but for this to happen you would have to be close to each other for at least several minutes and breathe directly on each other - a COVID-19 infection is easier to get.

It is more than unlikely for most people to become infected with monkeypox virus and become ill in the near future. The cases are definitely important for doctors and medical professionals to pay attention to symptoms in patients, as there are still undiscovered cases, but media scaremongering is therefore more than unnecessary.

Other sources used: Public News Time , CDC , Science Media Center , euronews , UN News , Stat News , CDC

Article image: Andrea Männel 2001/RKI

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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )