A rare disease without a vaccine... Know the "monkeypox" virus

Yesterday, with the British health authorities announcing the first human infection on its soil with a rare virus originating from animals, questions increased about the severity of the disease called "monkeypox".

And UK health officials had announced that the patient had a recent travel history from Nigeria, where he is believed to have contracted the infection, before traveling to Britain.

According to the British News Agency (PA Media), experts at the British Health Security Agency are monitoring the case and working closely with the National Health Service to contact people who may have had close contact with the patient.

Monkeypox is an infectious disease caused by the monkey virus.

Symptoms of the disease include fever and headache, followed by muscle pain, and then swollen lymph nodes, which leads to a feeling of fatigue, and the appearance of a rash in the form of blisters covered with an outer crust.

The British agency explained that monkeypox is a rare viral infection that does not spread easily between humans, and symptoms are usually mild and heal on their own, and most people recover within a few weeks, but it may sometimes cause severe illness in some infected people.

According to the website of the US Centers for Infectious Disease Control and Prevention, monkeypox was first discovered in 1958 when two smallpox-like infections occurred in colonies of monkeys preserved for research, hence the name "monkeypox". 

The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

During a period of intense efforts to eradicate smallpox.

Since then, monkeypox has been reported in several other Central and West African countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo and Sierra Leone, with the majority of cases occurring in the Republic of the Congo. democracy.

Cases of monkeypox virus infection have occurred in people outside Africa linked to international travel or imported animals, including cases in the United States, Israel and Singapore.

The natural reservoir of monkeypox is still unknown, however, African rodents and non-human primates (such as monkeys) may harbor the virus and infect humans. 

According to the World Health Organization, the death rate for monkeypox outbreaks ranges between 1 and 10 percent, and most deaths occur in younger groups.

There is no treatment or vaccine available to combat the disease, however, experts say that vaccination against smallpox has proven highly effective in preventing monkeypox as well.