Ways to avoid the dangers of the MPOX virus

Have you heard more lately about Mpox?

Mpox (monkeypox) is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. It can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, and fever.

This article will provide more information about Mpox. As there are cases reported almost all over the world, it would be nice to know more about the virus and how to prevent it from contracting it.

What is Mpox and when was the discovery?

The infectious disease Mpox is caused by the monkeypox virus (commonly abbreviated as MPXV), an enveloped double-stranded DNA virus of the Orthopoxvirus genus in the Poxviridae family, which includes variola, cowpox, vaccinia, and other viruses.

The monkeypox virus was discovered in Denmark (1958) in monkeys kept for research and the first reported human case of mpox was a nine-month-old boy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, 1970). Mpox can spread from person to person or occasionally from animals to people

How does it get transmitted?

According to most reports, mpox is not as readily transmissible. It instead relies on close physical contact – usually prolonged – to pass from person to person, or animal to person.

There are also studies that you can get the disease through contact with someone who has an infectious rash, such as lesions, scabs, and bodily fluids. You can also get it by touching items that someone who’s infected may have touched.

There are also indications that intimate contact is promoting the spread of the virus.

Animal-to-human transmission of mpox occurs from infected animals to humans from bites or scratches, or during activities such as hunting, skinning, trapping, cooking, playing with carcasses, or eating animals. The extent of viral circulation in animal populations is unknown, and further studies are underway.

Signs and symptoms of the disease.

After interviewing patients with monkeypox, they reported how painful and debilitating it was if they contacted the mpox.

“It’s long, it’s nasty and you don’t want to get it. “People may feel flu-like symptoms in the beginning, with fever, headache, stuff like that, but as the disease progresses you get a multi-stage rash, lesions can develop in your mouth, your feet and genital region and these develop into pus-filled blisters

Mpox lesions or blisters tend to last a few weeks after appearing but can leave long-lasting and even permanent scarring behind.

How to treat one who’s infected?

There is no specific treatment, other than medicines to treat the symptoms.  Mpox is treated with supportive care. Vaccines and therapeutics developed for smallpox and approved in some countries can be used for mpox in some circumstances.

Most of the research shows chances of getting seriously ill or dying depend on factors such as your age and level of immunity.

The Indonesian Health Ministry announced that as of Saturday, Aug. 17, there have been 88 confirmed cases of monkeypox (mpox) in the country. Out of the 88 reported cases, 87 have fully recovered. The weekly trend of confirmed mpox cases in Indonesia indicates a peak in October 2023, based on data collected from 2022 to 2024.

The best advice for the public is to use medical masks if feeling unwell. If symptoms such as pus-filled rashes or scabs appear, seek immediate medical attention at the nearest health center, clinic, or hospital.