Monkeypox is a disease caused by infection with Monkeypox virus. It is a zoonotic disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans. It can also spread from person to person. This disease first broke out in monkeys. In 1958, a group of monkeys transported from Africa to Copenhagen, Denmark, developed a disease with skin blisters as the main symptom. A brand new virus was discovered from the sick monkeys and named Monkeypox Virus.

Source of infection: Monkeypox virus characteristics

The English name of Monkeypox virus is monkeypox, which is an enveloped double-stranded DNA virus with a rectangular shape, which can be cultured and grown in African green monkey kidney cells, resulting in cytopathic effects;

Orthopoxvirus belonging to the family Poxviridae, resistant to ether, has strong resistance to drying;

But it is easily inactivated by chloroform, methanol and formalin. Heating at 56°C for 30 minutes is also easy to inactivate it.

Monkeypox virus detection kit

Currently ELK Biotechnology has the following Monkeypox Virus (MPV) Kits

Laboratory test

1. Through PCR technology (polymerase chain reaction), Monkeypox genome fragments can be detected from the skin lesions of Monkeypox patients - from the tops of vesicles and pustules or from the fluid and dry crusts, and the clinical diagnosis is confirmed;

2. The monkey smallpox virus was isolated from the skin lesions by electron microscopy or culture, and the clinical diagnosis was confirmed;

3. Antibodies can be detected from the serum of infected persons by fluorescent antibody method and radioimmunoassay method for epidemiological investigation.

Differential diagnosis

Only a laboratory can make a definitive diagnosis of Monkeypox,

Diseases to identify with Monkeypox include smallpox, chickenpox, measles, bacterial skin infections, scabies, drug allergies, and syphilis.

Is the Monkeypox virus host just monkeys?

The animal host of Monkeypox virus is not only monkeys, but it was first discovered in monkeys, but also includes many rodents, such as rope squirrels, tree squirrels, Gambian kangaroos, dormouse, non-human primates and other species .

Can the Monkeypox virus infect people?

Monkeypox virus is a close relative of smallpox virus. It is a zoonotic virus. Although it is called Monkeypox virus, it does not only exist in monkeys. It is mainly transmitted to humans through various wild animals such as rodents and primates. Secondary transmission is also possible between humans.

The first human case of Monkeypox virus infection in the world was in August 1970, when a 9-year-old child in the Democratic Republic of Congo developed smallpox-like symptoms and was later laboratory confirmed to be Monkeypox virus.

A total of 909 confirmed cases of Monkeypox have now been reported in 29 countries.

Is the Monkeypox virus similar in structure to the new coronavirus?

Not similar.

The new coronavirus is an RNA virus.

Monkeypox virus is a double-stranded DNA virus of the genus Orthopoxvirus of the Poxviridae family.

The characteristics of DNA viruses are relatively stable in structure. Although the fatality rate can reach 10%, the infectious transmission medium and mode of transmission are relatively limited, which is significantly lower than that of the new coronavirus RNA virus.

The Monkeypox virus genome is relatively large, so it does not mutate as fast as the new crown and flu, and there are so many variants; it is not like the new crown virus that can float far through aerosols.

What virus is the Monkeypox virus similar to?

The close relatives of Monkeypox virus include smallpox, cowpox, buffalopox, cantagalo, etc., all of which are orthopoxviruses, and are very similar in antigenicity, biological characteristics, morphology and structure. So the clinical manifestations of Monkeypox are similar to the generalized vesicular herpes of smallpox, and it is a bit like chickenpox.

Where is Monkeypox popular?

In West Africa, Central Africa and other regions where humans and wild animals have close contact

How the Monkeypox virus spreads

The primary mode of transmission of Monkeypox virus is through direct contact with the blood, body fluids, skin or mucosal wounds of infected animals.

Secondary transmission between humans is mainly due to close contact with the respiratory secretions of infected persons, skin lesions, or items contaminated with the patient's body fluids or diseased tissues (such as clothing, bed sheets, etc.)

Monkeypox virus can exist in respiratory droplets. Long-term face-to-face contact with Monkeypox patients can be infected through respiratory droplets. Therefore, medical staff, family members and other people who have close contact with patients have a higher risk of infection.

Clinical manifestations of Monkeypox

The incubation period of Monkeypox (the time interval between acquiring an infection and developing symptoms) ranges from 6 to 16 days.

Infection can be divided into two stages:

1. Onset period (0 to 5 days)

At the onset of the disease, the disease does not have the typical characteristics, and patients generally experience symptoms such as fever, headache, lethargy, weakness, swollen lymph nodes, back pain and muscle pain, somewhat like the symptoms of the flu.

2. Skin rash period

Monkeypox is characterized by blisters, which look disgusting. Please go to the Internet to see the pictures.

Chickenpox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which is not closely related to the virus that causes Monkeypox. Monkeypox blisters tend to be more uniform, diffuse, and peripheral in distribution.

Some patients develop severe lymphadenopathy (swollen lymph nodes) before the rash develops, but not smallpox or chickenpox.

Everyone knows that people who have been infected with smallpox will have scars all over their bodies, their faces are pockmarked, pitted, and they will be disfigured for life and cannot be repaired.

Kangxi survived the smallpox infection and was made emperor, but he was also called Kangmazi because of the smallpox infection.

Is Monkeypox a self-healing disease? Will it be fatal?

For most people, Monkeypox is a self-limiting disease that usually lasts two to four weeks with a full recovery. Newborns, children and people with underlying immune deficiencies may be at risk of more severe symptoms and death from Monkeypox.

There are two main branches of Monkeypox virus: the West African branch and the Congo Basin branch. The West African clade has a lower fatality rate, with about 1% of infections resulting in death; the Congo Basin clade can cause a 10% mortality rate.

how to treat

Monkeypox is usually a self-limiting disease, meaning no treatment is needed and the patient will recover on their own, with symptoms usually lasting 14 to 21 days.

There is currently no specific drug for Monkeypox. As a means of controlling Monkeypox virus outbreaks, smallpox vaccine, antiviral drugs and vaccinia immunoglobulin can be used.

The U.S. FDA approved the first drug for smallpox, TPOXX (tecovirimat), in 2018, and it may also be effective against Monkeypox.

Is there a vaccine?

There is currently no vaccine specific for Monkeypox virus.

Smallpox and Monkeypox are closely related, so the smallpox vaccine is 85% immune to Monkeypox. However, since 1980, when WHO declared the eradication of variola virus, vaccination against variola virus has been stopped, and the vaccine used in those years no longer exists. Therefore, the post-80s generation have not been vaccinated against smallpox. The smallpox vaccine, MVA-BN, was approved in 2019 to prevent Monkeypox virus, but it is still not widely available.

How to prevent

1. Avoid contact with animals that may carry the Monkeypox virus (mainly primates, rodents, marsupials in southern Africa);

2. Avoid eating game, especially when traveling in southern Africa;

3. Avoid contact with any items that have been in contact with sick animals, such as bedding;

4. Isolate infected patients from others who may be at risk of infection;

5. Practice good hand hygiene after contact with infected animals or humans. For example, wash your hands with soap and water, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer;

6. Use personal protective equipment (PPE) when caring for Monkeypox patients.