New Delhi: Although cases of monkeypox have increased globally, experts around the world are keeping a close eye on the disease. The current monkeypox outbreak is the largest ever reported by the virus and has been designated a global emergency. So far, officials say, all evidence suggests the disease has spread primarily through networks of men who have sex with men. More new symptoms of monkeypox have emerged, raising concerns about contagion.Also Read – Monkeypox strain in India differs from Europe’s ‘super-spreaders’: ICMR-NIV report
According to the British Medical Journal, experts have observed a “new clinical course of the disease” (new symptoms). Penile edema (which is primarily painless and non-tender swelling of the penis) and rectal pain have been identified as the “new clinical course of the disease,” reports the Hindustan Times.
Monkeypox: new symptoms
Monkeypox: General symptoms
- fever
- headache
- Chakama
- dry throat
- Cough
- Swollen lymph nodes
How is monkeypox spread?
The head of the World Health Organization advised men at risk of monkeypox to reduce their sexual partners “for the time being”. But this is a complex epidemic that can change how it spreads and which population groups are most affected.
There is also debate over whether monkeypox should be called a sexually transmitted disease, with some critics complaining that the term creates stigma and can be used to denigrate gay and bisexual men. Monkeypox can also be spread asexually, and using condoms or other specific measures isn’t enough to prevent the STD, Inglesby and other experts say.
The ‘Guidelines on the Management of Monkeypox Disease’ issued by the Center states that human-to-human transmission is mainly through large respiratory droplets which usually require prolonged close contact.
It can also be transmitted through direct contact with body fluids or lesions, and through indirect contact with wound materials such as contaminated clothing or linen of an infected person. Animal-to-human transmission can occur through bites or scratches from infected animals or through the preparation of tree meat.
The incubation period is usually six to 13 days, and the case fatality rate for monkeypox has historically been 11 percent in the general population and higher in children. In recent times, the case fatality rate has been around three to six percent.
