After a rare and deadly strain of monkeypox was discovered in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Europe, Australian health authorities are on high alert.
According to British health authorities, four “rare and unusual” cases of the illness have been identified among males who appear to have been infected in London and had no history of traveling to the endemic stricken Africa, where the smallpox-like disease is a real problem.
Previously, the British authorities had three confirmed cases of monkeypox, two of which were in the same address and one of which occurred after a visit to Nigeria, where the disease is common among monkeys.
Chief Medical Adviser for the UK’s Health Security Agency, Dr. Susan Hopkins said, “The evidence suggests that there may be a transmission of the monkeypox virus in the community, spread by close contact.”
Monkeypox is a viral infection that humans get by touching or being bitten by infected wild animals like squirrels or rats in Africa.
The disease isn’t transmitted easily from one person to another, but British health authorities warn it’s conceivable under particular circumstances.
What are the Monkeypox symptoms?
Monkeypox is generally mild, with most patients needing no special treatment in 14 to 21 days.
Fever, a headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, and fatigue are all possible early symptoms.
A pimple-like rash may appear before spreading across the skin and developing into fluid-filled pustules and papules, before hardening and eventually falling off.