Comment: No cure for monkeypox but our body can heal surprisingly

JAKARTA: The news of a recent case of monkeypox in Singapore has led countries in Southeast Asia to be wary of the spread of the disease.

No cases have yet been reported in Asia, with the exception of Singapore. But we must know about the disease that is rife in other countries, especially in Africa.

Singapore is the fourth country, and the first in Asia, where the monkey pox virus has infected humans. Cases were reported in the United States in 2003 and in Britain and Israel last year.

We have not found any treatment yet. But the good news is that the body can in most cases cure itself of the virus.

WHERE DOES IT COME?

Monkeypox is a virus that causes skin rashes and vesicles, small bags filled with liquid that turn into crusts.

Discovered for the first time in 1958, this virus infected a group of monkeys that were the subject of research in Cameroon. The vector was African rodents such as mice. At first, this virus was known only in Central and West Africa.

After being bitten by virus-infected rats, animals such as monkeys, cows, buffaloes, dogs and other mammals will be infected and present with symptoms.

Reported cases of human infection did not appear until the 1970s. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a 9-year-old boy was initially suspected of being infected with smallpox, but became ill. subsequently proved infected with monkeypox.

For three decades, the disease has been confined to Africa. In 2003, the first non-African cases were reported in the United States in people who had been in contact with a prairie dog, a North American rodent.

Symptoms in infected animals include runny nose, excessive tears, difficulty breathing and swollen lymph nodes, accompanied by the presence of skin abnormalities.

TRANSMISSION TO HUMANS

Humans can also get the virus by being bitten by an infected African rodent or by eating undercooked virus-containing meat.

The incubation period of this disease is very long, between five and 21 days. If someone is infected, they can spread the virus to others without knowing it for three weeks.

Fever is the first symptom, followed by skin abnormalities appearing on the face.

Other symptoms include breathing problems and enlarged lymph nodes. The disease lasts from two to four weeks.

The death rate from smallpox virus infection in monkeys in humans is between 1 and 10% during an outbreak.

Monkeypox infection in adults is usually benign and can heal itself. More severe conditions are found in children.

Complications can include bacterial infections of the skin, pneumonia to respiratory failure, lesions of the eye lining, blindness, sepsis (inflammation of the body due to infection) and inflammation of the brain.

PREVENTION OF VIRUSES

In countries where monkeypox has never been reported, the most important is to prevent the virus from entering. Port health authorities should monitor every person entering their area.

The easiest way to detect a case is to monitor body temperature. People who have a high fever should be monitored and evaluated if they have skin abnormalities or other symptoms.

As there is no antiviral for monkeypox, the treatment is administered symptomatically. Vaccination for this disease is not yet available.

If the pain is very severe, immunoglobulin or antibody therapy should be considered for patients.

Erni Juwita Nelwan is a specialist in internal medicine and infectious infectious diseases in Jakarta. She is also Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of Universitas Indonesia. This comment appeared for the first time in The Conversation. Read it here.