A patient who visited Nigeria has been diagnosed with the tropical disease Monkeypox. The patient was admitted to the disease centre at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London. Although he is the only person in the UK who is currently showing symptoms, others who have been in close proximity to him have been contacted by health officials.
What is monkeypox?
Monkeypox is a rare viral disease which is usually found in central and western Africa.
It is a zootonic disease, which means it is caused by parasites, bacteria and viruses which can switch between humans and animals.
Another major disease which falls into this category is the Ebola virus, which killed more than 11,000 people during an outbreak in west Africa between 2014 and 2016.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), monkeypox is similar to smallpox, which was eradicated in 1980 – although it is typically less severe.
The disease is usually found in rainforest regions, and animal carries include rope squirrels, tree squirrels, Gambian rats, striped mice, dormice and primates.
Monkeypox is rare in the western world, although there were three cases in the UK in 2018.
The first and biggest outbreak in the western world came in 2003, when 43 US residents were diagnosed with the virus.
Health authorities believe the outbreak was caused by the importation of prairie dogs which were kept as pets and had been imported from Africa.
READ MORE: What is monkeypox? Where did it come from?
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms of monkeypox are similar to those of smallpox, with a characteristic widespread rash.
The infection has an incubation period of roughly five to 21 days, and initial symptoms present similarly to the flu.
A fever and intense headache start off the infection, after which lymph nodes swell, in a condition named lymphadenopathy.
After this, people will start to feel weak and tired before they begin to break out in a rash.
The rash starts to appear from one to three days into infection, initially as flat skin lesions called maculopapules.
These then develop into a raised rash before growing outwards as pustules, which are large pus-filled lumps.
This can begin on the face before spreading to other parts of the body, such as the palms of hands and soles of the feet.
Around ten days later, the pustules begin to crust. They may take three weeks to disappear.
WHO said: “The case fatality has varied widely between epidemics but has been less than 10% in documented events, mostly among young children.
“In general, younger age-groups appear to be more susceptible to monkeypox disease.”