How monkeypox spreads and why current cases are something 'we've never seen'

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As the CDC confirms a case in Boston, Dr. Jon LaPook discusses why the potentially fatal disease, now found in 12 countries outside Africa, is being taken seriously by public health officials.

Within several days, a typical rash develops, that progresses to raised blisters that turn into scabs. Illness usually lasts 2-4 weeks.The virus is spread through body fluids, skin and respiratory droplets."It's important to know that this virus really does require close personal contact," said Dr. Anne Rimoin, professor of epidemiology at the. She told LaPook that we are seeing cases happening in several countries at the same time:"We've never seen that.

Those cases resemble a milder version found in West Africa. But in areas with limited access to healthcare, that milder version can still be fatal, the morality rate being"between one and three, 3.5 percent in an African setting," said Rimoin. In the United States, during a 2003 outbreak of monkeypox caused by an imported African rodent, 47 people became ill, but nobody died.Courtesy CDC/Mahy et al. via Smith Collection/Gado/Getty ImagesPossible treatments include a variation of the smallpox vaccine, antiviral drugs and antibodies."We definitely have enough vaccine, and we definitely have access to the antivirals and the treatments that are needed," Rimoin replied.

"This is very different. We've known about monkeypox for more than 60 years. There are vaccines, there are therapeutics, we have a lot of experience dealing with it, certainly in Africa." Also, he noted,"At the beginning of the pandemic, it was spreading without people realizing it; they were asymptomatic. [Monkeypox] has a characteristic rash. It would be hard for it to spread widely without us knowing about it."

 

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