As of 21 May, 92 confirmed cases of monkeypox had been reported to WHO from 12 non-monkeypox-endemic countries. What makes the public more concerned is, will monkeypox be introduced into China? Could it cause a global pandemic?
Due to changes in transmission methods, monkeypox, which is now emerging in Europe and the United States, has the potential to become a sexually transmitted disease, or at least through sexual contact. In history, similar diseases have occurred long ago, and they are still ravaging human beings. This is AIDS. It remains to be seen whether monkeypox, now emerging, will follow in the footsteps of AIDS as another new sexually transmitted disease.
After China stopped vaccinating against smallpox (vaccinia) in the early 1980s, people under the age of 40 are generally not immune to smallpox and monkeypox. Since there is no special route, such as from animals to humans, and from abroad, there is currently no monkeypox infection in China in this round of epidemics. However, infectious diseases do not respect national borders. The risk of monkeypox virus importing into China still exists, and with the outbreak of epidemics in Europe and the United States, the risk of imported cases will also increase accordingly, so it is necessary to pay close attention.
Jin Dongyan, a professor at the School of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Hong Kong and a virus expert, is acceptingSino-Singapore JingweiIn the interview, although there may be more monkeypox cases in the future, the possibility of an outbreak like the new crown pneumonia epidemic is very low and almost non-existent.
He analyzed that from the point of view of the source of infection, there is currently no animal source of infection in China, let alone from animals to humans.
There are voices pointing out that people’s weakened immunity to smallpox virus has led to limited spread of monkeypox virus. In this regard, Jin Dongyan said there is such a possibility. He said that people are immune for life after being vaccinated against smallpox, so some people who have been vaccinated against smallpox are still immune to monkeypox virus.
Although there is some degree of human-to-human transmission of monkeypox virus in unvaccinated populations, there are currently limited cases of monkeypox reported worldwide, and there is no evidence that monkeypox virus can be very effective in human-to-human transmission, or in human populations. There is persistent infection, and there is no indication that monkeypox virus will cause a world pandemic.
Jin Dongyan believes that at present, people have magnified the danger of monkeypox virus, and there is no need to be too nervous about monkeypox virus. “The smallpox virus has been fully adapted to the human body after thousands of years, and the monkeypox virus is still in the stage of ‘knocking’ on the human body. The monkeypox virus is less infectious and less pathogenic than the smallpox virus.”
Symptoms of monkeypox virus infection, according to WHO, are similar to those of smallpox, but with less clinical severity. The incubation period is usually 6 to 13 days and may be as long as 21 days. Early symptoms include fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes, muscle aches, and severe fatigue, among which swollen lymph nodes help differentiate monkeypox from smallpox. A few days after the fever develops into a large rash on the face and other parts of the body, and may lead to secondary infection, bronchopneumonia, sepsis, etc.
On May 21, an article published on the WeChat public account “Huashan Infection” of Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University pointed out that although there has never been a report of a confirmed case of monkeypox in my country, infectious diseases have no national borders, and monkeypox virus was imported into my country. The risk will persist, and with the emergence of epidemics in Europe and the United States, the risk of imported cases in my country will also increase accordingly.
The article mentioned that after my country stopped vaccinating against smallpox (vaccinia) in the early 1980s, people under the age of 40 are generally not immune to smallpox and monkeypox. “While we are paying close attention to the international monkeypox epidemic, we should be prepared in advance… At the same time, we should start to reserve specific vaccines and antiviral drugs to avoid being in a passive situation after a case occurs.”
Hashtag: Monkeypox infectious diseases
.
[related_posts_by_tax taxonomies=”post_tag”]
The post Will monkeypox cases spread to China? Experts clarify doubts: China has no animal source of infection appeared first on Gamingsym.