NICD CALLS FOR VIGILANCE AMID MONKEYPOX OUTBREAK

By Sylvester Raraza

Email: sylvesterraraza@gmail.com

Twitter: @Sylvester_tut

Although South Africa has no reported and confirmed cases of Monkeypox, experts urge the public to be cautious about the person-to-person transmissible virus. Monkeypox is a virus that is a family to the genus Orthopoxvirus and Poxviridae, and these viruses are carried by different animal species and are known to infect human beings as well.

Monkeypox disease in humans causes blister-like lesions (mostly resembling chickenpox) that appear on the face, and in extreme cases it develops on the soles of the feet, palms of the hands and other parts of the body. Its signs and symptoms are visible averagely between 7-14 days, and initial symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, backaches, chills and exhaustion.

Monkeypox patient | Picture: Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

The monkeypox virus is transmissible through person-to-person and via human contact with an animal that has the virus, also through touching materials contaminated with the virus, or entry of the virus through broken skin, respiratory tract, eyes, nose or mouth. A rapid spread of the virus can be contained through contact tracing for diagnosed people and isolating individuals who show symptoms and signs of the disease.

The 16 countries that have reported and confirmed cases of monkeypox are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Canary Islands, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Cases in these countries range anything from 1 confirmed case to 50 confirmed cases, all totalling 145 reported and confirmed cases in all 16 countries.

The virus should not concern South Africans for now, but what the covid-19 virus has taught us is that outbreaks of diseases in far away parts of the world have the potential to quickly spread to countries with no reported cases because of how interconnected the world is and travelling is also part of our lives. There will be no travel restrictions into South Africa, but people who have travelled to or from a monkeypox endemic area, who show and feel any signs of sickness, must report to health professions





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