Everything you need to know about smallpox – Startitup

The World Health Organization (WHO) convened an extraordinary meeting on Friday in connection with the increase in the number of smallpox cases. Within Europe, more than 100 confirmed cases or suspected cases have been reported in Germany, Portugal, Spain, Italy, France and the United Kingdom in recent weeks. The United States, Canada and Australia are also reported to be infected, reports Reuters. Africa. There are two species of smallpox – the milder West African form and the more severe Congolese form. The natural host for smallpox monkeys are monkeys, squirrels, rats, dormitories and other rodents or other animals. They are transmitted to humans by contact with an infected animal, but in close contact there is a risk of transmission of the disease between humans. According to the US Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), the virus is transmitted mainly by airborne droplets, but also by contact with the affected body’s fluids, blood or boils. limbs and genitals, but they can also appear on the cornea or conjunctiva. After a while, a rash forms on the rashes, which later falls off. Infected people may experience fever and headaches, backaches, and fatigue. The incubation period of the disease is usually 6-13 days, but in rare cases it can be longer. The symptoms of the disease usually last for two to four weeks. In young children and immunocompromised individuals, the course of the disease may be more severe. They appeared for more than 50 years. The smallpox virus was first detected in humans in 1970 in a nine-year-old boy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It was in this area that only two years ago, the much more deadly smallpox virus was completely eliminated. Most cases of smallpox have since been reported in the rainforest area, in addition to the Congo (DRC) and 11 other African countries. Although Europe, North America and Australia are currently experiencing an increase in cases, this is not the first time that smallpox has appeared on these continents. The first case of smallpox outside Africa appeared in 2003 in the United States, the cause of which was a prairie dog. In Europe, smallpox monkeys were recorded in Britain in 2018, when the infected person arrived from Nigeria. The current spread of smallpox in Western countries began at the turn of April and May 2022, when the first case of British disease, which also returned from Nigeria, was recorded. several cases have occurred in the LGBTI community. However, according to experts, there is no evidence that it is a sexually transmitted disease, such as HIV. It is more likely that the transmission of the infection is not related to the contact itself, but to close skin contact between the two people during sexual activities. Several studies have shown that these vaccines are approximately 85 percent effective in preventing smallpox. Because the disease was eliminated worldwide in 1980, smallpox vaccines are not commonly available worldwide. However, some countries, such as the United Kingdom, have already purchased the vaccine and offered it to healthcare professionals, and are ready to provide it to those at risk if necessary. Although the increase in the number of new cases is worrying, scientists are unlikely to have large outbreaks of smallpox in Europe at the moment. Scientists who have monitored numerous smallpox outbreaks in Africa say they are confused by the recent spread of the disease in Europe and North America, writes SITA. However, cases have been reported in the UK, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the US, Sweden and Canada over the past week, mostly in young men who have not traveled to Africa before. They were mostly gay, bisexual, or had sex with men recently. However, experts stressed that they did not know whether the disease was spread through sex or other close sex-related contacts. Source: Cynthia S. TASR / Goldsmith, Russell Regner / CDC via APA. and another 50 suspects. The first cases also appeared on Friday in France, Germany, Belgium and Australia. “I am shocked. I wake up every day and more countries are infected, “said Oyewale Tomori, a virologist who previously headed the Nigerian Academy of Sciences and is a member of several WHO advisory committees. Rare disease Smallpox is a rare viral infection that is usually mild and from which most people recover within a few weeks. The virus does not spread easily among people and the risk to the general public is reportedly very low. Smallpox is most common in remote parts of Central and West Africa, so cases of infection outside these areas are often associated with trips to it. No smallpox vaccine has yet been approved in Europe. However, according to El País, Spanish health authorities reportedly bought thousands of smallpox vaccines to deal with a possible epidemic, as smallpox monkeys belong to the same family of viruses as smallpox, thus protecting smallpox vaccines against smallpox. Thank you for reading Startitup. If you have a perception or found an error in the article, write to us at [email protected]. Sources: TASR, SITA