Health

Why the Monkeypox Virus Is Not Like Covid-19

Approximately 1 to 3 days after fever, most people also develop the painful rash that is characteristic of poxviruses. It rises during the next 5-7 days and begins with a flat red mark filled with pus. The rash can start on the patient’s face, hands, feet, inside of the mouth, or genitals and progress to the rest of the body. (Chickenpox causes a similar rash, which is not a true poxvirus, but is caused by an unrelated varicella-zoster virus.)

If your personal acne becomes a scab, 2-4 weeksThey are no longer infectious, Angela said Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, a vaccine and infectious disease tissue.

Children and people with underlying immunodeficiency can be more severe, but monkeypox is rarely fatal. One strain found in Central Africa can kill up to 10% of infected individuals, but it is estimated that the case fatality rate of currently prevalent virus versions is less than 1%.

And the easily identifiable rash of monkeypox, and its early symptoms, can be considered beneficial. “One of Covid’s most difficult things is that people who don’t know they’re infected can spread the infection asymptomatically or presymptomatically,” said Dr. Rasmussen. “But in monkeypox, there is no presymptomatic infection.”

Nevertheless, as recent outbreaks have shown, there are many opportunities to infect monkeypox in the first few days of infection, where the symptoms are nonspecific, Dr. Rasmussen said.

Fortunately, there is still no evidence to suggest that the monkeypox virus has evolved or become more infectious.DNA viruses like monkeypox are generally Very stable and evolves very slowly Compared to the RNA virus, Dr. Cigal said. Scientists have sequenced the virus from recent cases to check for potential mutations, he said, and will soon know if infectivity, severity, or other characteristics have changed. .. “But my expectation is that they will not change at all.”

Nonetheless, experts provide some explanation for the recent increase in cases of monkeypox. Studies have shown that the incidence of humans infected with the virus through contact with animals, also known as the spillover effect of zoonotic diseases, has become more common in recent decades. Increased urbanization and deforestation mean that humans and wildlife are becoming more frequent contacts.Some animals that carry the zoonotic virus, such as bats and rodents, actually Become more abundant while others are expanding or adapting their habitat Due to urban development and climate change.

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