In March 2020, the government issued a mandatory lock down here in the United States due to rising cases of Covid. No one was prepared for it and the pandemic swept across the entire world forcing everything to stop. It took more than a year to get vaccine and right when we thought everything was getting back to normal, we were introduced to the new virus known as Monkeypox.
Monkeypox is caused by the virus named Monkeypox which is similar to the smallpox that was eradicated in the 80’s. World Health Organization declared Monkeypox as a global health emergency. In America states like Newyork, Illinois and California reported numerous cases of this disease. California even declared the state of emergency due to this Virus. It was reported that Europe and North America had majority of cases being reported. Africa was the first country to be affected by monkey pox and Spain got hit worst to the point hospitalization due to Monkeypox were surged by more than 3%. In total more than 75 other countries reported the cases of Monkeypox virus. Monkeypox draws the similar comparison to the smallpox but however it is to be noted that it is not as fatal as smallpox. The side effects of monkeypox includes fever, headache, muscle ache, swellings, back pain and a lack of energy. Fever is reported to be the first sign of the virus being transmitted to an individual and once the fever breaks a rash can develop from the face and spreading to the other parts of the body
Monkey pox is an DNA virus which are very stable as opposed to RNA virus which are hard to treat. When a DNA virus affect a cell, most of the time they make a perfect copy of themselves and thanks to modern science and the stabilities in these viruses, the vaccines are easier to make. Even though there have been cases of death due to Monkeypox virus among individuals with lower immune system, monkeypox virus itself is not as detrimental as Covid-19. So, the question is who gets affected by Monkey Virus and how to prevent oneself from getting it?
The name Monkeypox was given to these viruses because it was identified in a monkey in 1957. And these viruses are transferred from animals to humans and from humans to another human. The main root of transmission is from an infected person either in the form of skin-to-skin contact or through a close contact through the respiratory system. According to W.H.O. men are at higher risk of catching the Monkeypox virus and more specifically among men who prefer to have sexual intercourse with other men. People with lower immune system and senior citizens are also vulnerable to this virus. Since these viruses have been detected in the past in the form of smallpox virus, there is the method to prevent them. The very first key is to limit contact among the infected individuals and looking carefully at the symptoms like fever and rashes and seeking medical treatment from the doctor. At home, regular handwashing is a must and when outside wear a mask. Also getting yourself vaccinated is must as well to stop this virus.
