Xinhua News Agency, Sydney, May 23 (Reporter Hao Yalin) The health department of New South Wales, Australia, confirmed the first case of monkeypox in Australia on the 20th. A number of Australian experts said that although the spread of monkeypox needs to be closely monitored, there is no need to panic. Unlike SARS-CoV-2, better understanding of poxviruses such as monkeypox and smallpox allows quick measures to be taken to interrupt transmission.
2019June 27 in Zagreb, capital of Croatia , monkeys in the zoo enjoy frozen fruit in the sweltering heat. Published by Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Tomislav Miletic)
What is monkeypox
Suresh Mahalingam, a professor at Griffith University in Australia, said monkeypox is a self-limiting disease and most people recover within two to three weeks after symptoms appear. However, monkeypox infection poses a greater risk to pregnant women because infection in pregnant women may affect fetal development.
According to Sanjaya Senanayake, an infectious disease scientist at the Australian National University, the monkeypox virus in the cases found in Europe is relatively mild. After an incubation period of seven to 17 days, monkeypox patients develop flu-like symptoms, followed by a high fever for a few days and a rash. The rash is widespread and can last up to about 4 weeks. Patients may also develop symptoms such as pneumonia and diarrhea, but the mortality rate is very low.
Is monkeypox dangerous?
Fasley Coulibaly, an associate professor at the Department of Molecular Biology at Monash University in Australia, said authorities need to deal with monkeypox. The spread of the virus is closely monitored, but there is no need to panic. On the one hand, such viruses are not as transmissible as respiratory viruses such as the new coronavirus and influenza virus. Humans, on the other hand, are no strangers to monkeypox viruses. It has been known to infect humans since the 1970s, and people know how to fight closely related viruses, such as smallpox.
Coulibaly believes that although poxviruses are good at breaking through the host’s defense system, they are like “the elephant of the virus world”, whose structure and replication capabilities make it easier to “target”, Decades of basic human research has found the virus’s weaknesses and is well prepared for possible threats. Humans have developed drugs and a new generation of vaccines against the smallpox virus, which also provide options for dealing with monkeypox.
2021September 5, at the Uzbek pharmaceutical company Zura Baker Laboratories Co., Ltd., staff work on the production line of the new crown recombinant protein vaccine. Published by Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Zafar)
Measures can be taken
David, professor at Australian National University Chalk believes this time is a little unusual because most monkeypox cases are not linked, meaning vigilance is needed around the world. But unlike Covid-19, more knowledge about poxviruses allows quick steps to be taken to interrupt transmission. The monkeypox virus belongs to a broader virus family that also includes the smallpox virus. Smallpox vaccine can be used to prevent monkeypox. Studies have shown that smallpox vaccination is still effective after exposure to monkeypox virus.
Rena McIntyre, an infectious disease scientist at the University of New South Wales in Australia, said her research showed that the smallpox vaccine has been 40 to 50 years since the mass cessation of vaccination. The decline in capacity may be responsible for the increased monkeypox outbreak. She advised authorities to identify contacts associated with monkeypox patients and vaccinate them against monkeypox.
Senanayake points out that the smallpox vaccine can provide cross-protection, but it’s uncertain how immune people who received the smallpox vaccine decades ago would still be against monkeypox. Some antiviral drugs are available to treat monkeypox.