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Monkey pox (monkeypox): What is it, what are its symptoms, how is it transmitted and is there a vaccine?

The so-called "monkey pox" or "simian pox" -monkeypox in English- has sounded the alarms in Europe and the United States. Next, we explain what it is, what its symptoms are, how it spreads and in which countries cases have been reported so far.

The natural reservoir of monkeypox is currently unknown. However, African rodents and primates such as monkeys can harbor the virus and infect people.

They investigate a case of monkeypox in the US

The monkeypox virus has been reported mostly from Central and West Africa and is a rare but dangerous infection similar to the now-eradicated smallpox virus. According to the World Health Organization, monkeypox continues to appear sporadically.

This is everything you need to know about monkeypox:

Smallpox: contagious and deadly. What you should know

What are your symptoms?

Monkeypox usually has milder symptoms than smallpox. According to the CDC, the disease begins with fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, chills, swollen lymph nodes — a symptom that smallpox does not have — and exhaustion. Up to three days after you have a fever, you may develop a rash on your face and body that progresses to crusty skin lesions.

The incubation period that is, the time from when a person is infected until they have symptoms for monkeypox is usually 7 to 14 days, but can range from 5 to 21 days, the CDC reports. The illness usually lasts between 2 and 4 weeks.

People who may have symptoms of monkeypox, and those who have close contact with them, should contact their doctor if they have any unusual rashes or lesions, the CDC says.

“The infection can spread when someone is in close contact with an infected person; however, there is a very low risk of transmission to the general population,” reads a statement from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

How is monkeypox spread?

In early cases, the monkeypox virus is
transmitted through direct contact with blood, body fluids, skin lesions, or
mucous membranes of animals that have been contaminated with the virus.

For its part, the US Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) explain that the virus enters the body through skin
wounds, even if they are not visible, from the respiratory tract or mucous
membranes, such as the eyes, nose or mouth.

When it comes to human-to-human transmission,

A bite or scratch occurs
By improperly cooking meat from infected animals
In direct contact with body fluids or indirect contact with injured material
Through contaminated bedding
The WHO indicates that transmission occurs mainly by respiratory droplets after prolonged face-to-face contact with a person who has contracted the virus, "which exposes family members of active cases to a higher risk of infection."
 The infection can also be
transmitted by inoculation or across the placenta. However, the WHO indicates
that to date it has not been shown "that person-to-person transmission
alone can sustain monkeypox virus infection in humans."
the CDC notes that it can occur when:

A bite or scratch occurs
By improperly cooking meat from infected animals
In direct contact with body fluids or indirect contact with injured material
Through contaminated bedding
The
WHO indicates that transmission occurs mainly by respiratory droplets after
prolonged face-to-face contact with a person who has contracted the virus,
"which exposes family members of active cases to a higher risk of
infection."

The infection can also be transmitted by
inoculation or across the placenta. However, the WHO indicates that to date it
has not been shown "that person-to-person transmission alone can sustain
monkeypox virus infection in humans."

It can also spread from person to person through
respiratory droplets, usually in a closed environment, according to the US
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).