Can monkeypox be treated? US reports first case of the rare disease in Massachusetts

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The patient was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston on May 12 and "during the course of their admission they were identified as a possible monkeypox suspect," Dr. Erica Shenoy, associate chief of the hospital's infection control unit, reportedly said. 

Health authorities are now on alert for the spread of monkeypox. After this first case was reported in the US, there is also news that new cases have emerged in Europe. On Wednesday, May 18, Portugal said it was testing 23 potential cases. Earlier this month, the United Kingdom was the first to confirm a case of monkeypox. It has now detected as many as seven cases. The UK is working with the World Health Organization (WHO) to investigate the virus’ spread as it could not find a link between the initial case of a man who had traveled from Nigeria, and the more recent cases. 

Can monkeypox be treated?

Monkeypox is caused by a virus that is a relative of smallpox. The disease, first identified in monkeys, is mainly confined to West and Central Africa. It is usually mild and most people recover without treatment within 14 to 21 days. The symptoms can initially include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion.

A rash, resembling the kind that chickenpox patients show on their bodies, can also develop in monkeypox cases. It begins on the face and then spreads mainly to the hands and feet. The rash may develop into papules and fluid-filled pustules. It eventually forms a scab that falls off.

Monkeypox is usually mild, but the disease can still prove to be fatal. The disease kills up to 10 per cent of people it infects. Children are most likely to die. "Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe. With the eradication of smallpox in 1980 and subsequent cessation of smallpox vaccination, it has emerged as the most important orthopoxvirus. Monkeypox occurs in Central and West Africa, often in proximity to tropical rainforests," WHO says.

WHO also states that there is no specific treatment recommended for monkeypox at the moment. "Vaccination against smallpox with vaccinia vaccine was demonstrated through several observational studies to be about 85% effective in preventing monkeypox. Thus, prior childhood smallpox vaccination may result in a milder disease course," WHO adds. "However at the present time, the original (first-generation) smallpox vaccines are no longer available to the general public. A newer vaccinia-based vaccine was approved for the prevention of smallpox and monkeypox in 2019 and is also not yet widely available in the public sector."