What is the treatment for monkeypox?

The monkeypox virus is spreading.

Is there a cure for monkeypox?

Director-General of the WHO warns about what could happen.

For the second time in two years, the World Health Organization (WHO) took the extraordinary step of declaring a global emergency. This time the cause is monkeypox, which has spread to dozens of countries since May and has infected thousands of people.

Agencia Reforma reported that the director-general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, overruled a panel of advisers, who could not reach a consensus, and declared a «public health emergency of international interest». The WHO currently uses this designation to describe only two other diseases: Covid-19 and polio.

Monkeypox is spreading

PHOTO: Getty Images

«We have an outbreak that has spread rapidly around the world through new modes of transmission, about which we understand very little and that meets the criteria for a public health emergency,» Tedros said. Apparently, it is the first time that the director general had overruled his advisers to activate the maximum alert level of the agency.

At least 74 countries have reported nearly 17,000 cases of monkeypox since May, which is usually mild. Much of the infection outside of Africa, where it is endemic, has been among men who have sex with men. «The outbreak is concentrated in men who have sex with men and in particular those with multiple partners, which means it can be stopped with the right strategies in the right groups,» Tedros said. Filed Under: Monkeypox Treatment

What is the treatment for monkeypox?

3D generated image of DNA spiral being attacked by monkeypox Virus.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there really are no specific treatments for monkeypox or monkeypox virus infections. However, monkeypox and smallpox viruses are genetically similar.

This means that antiviral drugs and vaccines made to protect against smallpox could be used to prevent and treat simian pox virus infections, the official source reported. Antivirals such as tecovirimat (TPOXX) might be recommended for people who are more likely to get seriously ill, such as patients with weakened immune systems. Filed Under: Monkeypox Treatment

How dangerous is it?

Patient with monkeypox infection, computer illustration. Monkeypox is a zoonotic virus from the Poxviridae family that causes monkeypox, a pox-like disease. This virus, which is found near rainforests in Central and West Africa, causes disease in humans and monkeys, although its natural hosts are rodents. It is capable of human to human transmission. In humans it causes fever, swollen glands and a rash of fluid-filled blisters, shown in the illustration. It is fatal in 10 per cent of cases.

The director general of the UN health agency, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, also warned of the risk of discrimination, stating that stigma can be as dangerous as any virus. He also pointed out that the danger around the world is relatively moderate, except in Europe, where it is high.

The declaration of the WHO seeks a coordinated international response. The designation may lead member countries to invest significant funds to control the outbreak and encourage nations to share vaccines, treatments and other key resources, according to Agencia Reforma. Filed Under: Monkeypox Treatment

Is it now an international emergency?

A post-secondary student sits at a table on campus worried about diseases and struggling with mental health issues related to recent outbreaks.

This is the seventh public health emergency since 2007. Experts have criticized the WHO’s criteria for triggering such alerts as opaque and inconsistent. At a meeting in June, WHO advisers concluded that, while monkeypox was a growing threat, it was not yet an international emergency.

The panel was unable to reach another decision on Thursday, Tedros reported. «This process demonstrates once again that this vital tool needs to be refined to be more effective,» the general director of the agency’s deliberations said. The viral illness is spread by close contact and often causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled skin lesions. Filed Under: Monkeypox Treatment