MPOX: A Public Health Emergency of International Concern

 The World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared mpox (previously known as monkey pox) a public health emergency of international concern. This is due to the  surge in the number of mpox infections in the last few months. Let's examine the implications of this declaration, what we need to know about mpox and how to protect ourselves and our loved ones. 

A public health emergency of international concern is declared by the WHO when a disease has the potential to be spread across countries of the world through international travel and it needs concerted international effort to curb it. 

Mpox is a viral zoonotic disease, that means it is spread from animals to humans. Animals that can serve as reservoirs for the mpox virus include dogs, cats, rodents, monkeys etc. Infected humans can also transmit it to other humans.

It can be transmitted in a number of ways: Direct contact occurs by touching or shaking hands with an infected person who is showing symptoms such as rash or blisters. Indirect contact can be by touching contaminated surfaces or materials that have come into contact with an infected person's rash or body fluids. 

Other means of transmission are through sexual contact, inhaling droplets from an infected person's cough, sneeze, or breath; mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy or childbirth: and contact with Infected animals through bites, scratches, etc.

The disease has an incubation period of about two weeks during which the infected individual shows no symptoms. After this, symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion are observed for about one to three days. The next phase involves red rashes developing from the face and spreading to other parts of the body. 

There is no treatment at present for mpox disease, prevention remains the best approach. Some medications used for treating other viral infections can however be used for the treatment of mpox. 

Thankfully, the spread of mpox can be prevented by maintaining good hygiene, avoiding close contact with infected individuals, properly sanitizing our hands, disinfecting surfaces and equipment (appropriate use of hand sanitizers and disinfectants). 

It is important we all put all hands on deck to prevent the spread of mpox disease by enlightening our loved ones and the general public to take appropriate precautions. 

This is a public health enlightenment message by Hillingwell Consulting. Kindly share.

 

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