"I haven't heard of it ..."
"Is there a possibility of community-acquired infection?"
"I think this news should be watched for the time being." In
the United Kingdom and the United States, the infectious disease "monkeypox" Patients have been reported one after another, and they are attracting a lot of attention on SNS.
I summarized what kind of infectious disease "monkeypox" is.
(* A case photo of "monkeypox" is posted in the text)
"Monkeypox" that spreads in Europe and the United States
In Europe and North America, cases of "monkeypox" are being confirmed one after another.
WHO = The World Health Organization is calling on national health authorities to strengthen their readiness for early detection of patients and rapid tracking of those who come into contact with them.
[UK]
Health officials in the United Kingdom have announced that a total of nine cases of "monkeypox" have been confirmed by the 18th of this month.
The first confirmed patient was a returnee from a trip to Nigeria in West Africa, and it is believed that two family members were also infected.
On the other hand, the transmission route of the remaining 6 patients has not been clarified and is currently under investigation.
[USA]
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on the 18th that a patient with "monkeypox" was confirmed in eastern Massachusetts.
The patient has recently traveled to Canada, but is investigating where he was infected.
[Canada]
Health officials in Montreal, Canada, announced on the 19th that 17 people suspected of being infected with "monkeypox" were reported.
All suspected infections are quarantined, and those who have come into contact with them are also subject to health observations.
[France]
On the 19th, French health officials announced that a person suspected of being infected with "monkeypox" was reported for the first time in the country.
Details such as symptoms have not been clarified, but cases of suspected infection were reported in areas including the capital Paris and its suburbs.
In addition, according to the Associated Press, etc.,
▼ 14 people in Portugal,
▼ 7 people in Spain, and
▼ 1 person each in Italy, Sweden, and Belgium have been confirmed.
It was also found that one patient was confirmed in Australia.
What is "monkeypox"?
According to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, "monkeypox" was first discovered in 1958 in cynomolgus monkeys at a facility where primates were collected from around the world for polio vaccine production, hence the name "monkeypox". Was done.
According to WHO, the incubation period of "monkeypox" in humans is about 6 to 13 days, after which symptoms such as fever, sore throat, and swollen lymph nodes, as well as characteristic rashes on the face and body. Is to come out.
It has been reported that the case fatality rate has risen from a few percent to 10% when an infection occurred in Africa in the past.
The "monkeypox virus" can be transmitted by being bitten by infected animals such as mice and squirrels, by touching blood, body fluids, and rashes, and by touching or flying by the rashes and body fluids of infected people. It means that there is a possibility of being transmitted from person to person by being exposed to the virus.
However, WHO states that human-to-human transmission is due to close contact and is relatively limited.
No cases of "monkeypox" infection have been reported in Japan.
Through pets ...
In 1958, when "monkeypox" was first reported, no human infections were reported.
However, in 1970, human infection was first confirmed in the present Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Since then, the infection has spread sporadically in the rainforest areas of Central and West Africa.
In 2003, after the virus was introduced into the United States through small animals imported as pets from Africa, a total of 71 people were infected, but none died.
According to the American CDC, the "monkeypox virus" brought in from Africa through pets was infected with prairie dogs at this time.
The infected person allegedly had contact with prairie dogs.
According to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, there are two major types of "monkeypox virus", the Congolese type and the West African type, and the Congolese type is highly pathogenic.
Also, the case in the United States in 2003 has been revealed to be due to the West African type "monkeypox virus".
High preventive effect on smallpox vaccine
There is no specific treatment for "monkeypox" and it is treated by symptomatic treatment, but the vaccine against smallpox eradicated in 1980 is said to have a high preventive effect on "monkeypox".
"Monkeypox" Points to note [question one answer]
We interviewed Professor Shigeru Morikawa of Okayama University of Science, who is familiar with "monkeypox".
Q.
What kind of illness is it?
" Monkeypox
virus (= monkeypox virus) is a virus similar to smallpox, and it is known that when it infects humans, it causes symptoms similar to smallpox."
Some people are not so virulent. The epidemic continues in Africa, and patients are coming out every year. People who have returned from Africa or who came from Africa develop the disease in the UK or abroad and can be found there. I think that there have been a series of cases recently. "
Q.
Which type of virus was found in the United Kingdom?
"In the cases that have been imported from Nigeria to the United Kingdom in the past few years, it is known that it is the West African type, which is currently prevalent in Nigeria, which is considered to be a relatively low pathogenic monkey poxvirus. The virulent type is a virus that is mainly distributed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and it is becoming relatively easy to infect from person to person, and in severe cases it is a symptom that is indistinguishable from natural pox. It is also known that people die from the disease. "
Q. Isn't there much concern if it is not a highly virulent type?
"The West African type is said to be less pathogenic to monkeys and is said to be very mild in humans, but it has become quite severe in the last few years of epidemics in Nigeria. It has been pointed out that even in the attenuated West African type, the strains that are prevalent in Nigeria may be a little more virulent. "
Q.
Is it a scary virus?
"It's not as strong as smallpox so far. In the past, people all over the world were vaccinated against smallpox, so they were immune, but now the younger generation I haven't been vaccinated against smallpox because I've lost my smallpox. I don't think there's a risk of getting worse if you have an underlying disease with low immunity. I don't think it's a virus that causes smallpox. "
Q.
Why.
"The new coronavirus is a virus that spreads due to respiratory infections, so it has spread considerably, but the pox virus is mainly contact infections and some fly infections, but it is not so infectious, so it spreads all over the world at once. I don't think it will spread. "
Q.
What kind of situation can be considered if it comes into the country?
"Probably, it is expected to occur in cases where an infected person in the endemic country returns during the incubation period, or when a person in the endemic country visits Japan. Originally owned by a squirrel. The case where an infected animal was introduced as an imported animal by a virus was in the United States about 20 years ago, so such a risk is not zero. "
Q.
How should we be careful?
"For example, in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, there are infected people, but even if you go to such a country, you will not be infected without knowing it in a place like the city or the capital. Because the epidemic is occurring in remote areas, There is one thing that doesn't go to that kind of place. The remote area is basically a place like a tropical forest with abundant nature or a place with wild animals. "
"It's important to avoid unnecessarily contacting wildlife (in areas where overseas infections are widespread), especially when going abroad."