M.pox: A Unique Viral Disease
M.pox is an exceptional disease caused by the m.pox virus. That virus usually affects rodents, such as rats or mice, or nonhuman primates, such as monkeys. But it can occur in people.M.pox usually occurs in Central and West Africa. Cases outside of Africa are often due to:
Starting in 2022, m.pox cases were reported in countries that don't often have m.pox, such as the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to monitor cases that have been reported throughout the world, including Europe and the United States.
M.pox symptoms may start 3 to 17 days after you're exposed. The time between when you're exposed and when you have symptoms is called the incubation period.M.pox symptoms last 2 to 4 weeks and may include:
About 1 to 4 days after you begin having a fever, a skin rash starts. The m.pox rash often first appears on the face, hands, or feet and then spreads to other body parts. The rash often starts in the genital zone, mouth, or throat. The m.pox rash goes through many phases. Flat spots turn into inflammations. Then the sores fill with pus, scab over, and fall off over 2 to 4 weeks. You can spread m.pox while you have symptoms. So from when your symptoms start until your rash and scabs heal. See your health care professional right away if you have a new rash or any m.pox symptoms, even if you don't know anyone with m.pox.
The m.pox virus causes m.pox. The virus spreads through close contact with an infected animal or person. It can spread when a person handles materials such as blankets that have been in contact with someone who has m.pox.
The m.pox virus spreads from person to person through:
Direct contact with rashes, scabs, or body fluids of a person with m.pox.Extended close contact (more than four hours) with respiratory droplets from an infected person. that includes sexual contact.
Clothes, sheets, blankets, or other materials that have been in contact with rashes or body fluids of an infected person. An infected pregnant person can spread the m.pox virus to a fetus.
M.pox spreads from an animal to a person through:
Animal bites or scratches.
Wild game that is cooked for food.
Products, such as skins or furs, made of infected animals.
Direct contact with body fluids or rashes of animals with m.pox.
Take these steps to prevent infection with or the spread of the m.pox virus:Avoid close contact with people who have a rash that looks like m.pox.
Avoid handling clothes, sheets, blankets, or other materials that have been in contact with an infected animal or person.
Isolate people who have m.pox from healthy people.
Wash your hands well with soap and water after any contact with an infected person or animal. If soap and water aren't available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Avoid animals that may carry the virus.
Some smallpox vaccines can prevent m.pox, including the ACAM2000 and Jynneos vaccines. These vaccines can be used to prevent m.pox because smallpox and m.pox are caused by related viruses.
Healthcare professionals may suggest that people who have been exposed to m.pox get vaccinated. Some people who are at risk of exposure to the virus in their work, such as lab workers, may get vaccinated too.
The CDC doesn't recommend that everyone get vaccinated against m.pox at that time.
Treatment for most people with m.pox is aimed at relieving symptoms. Care may include managing skin damage from the m.pox rash, drinking enough liquids to help keep stool soft, and pain management.
If you have m.pox, isolate at home in a separate room from family and pets until your rash and scabs heal.
There is no specific treatment approved for m.pox. Healthcare professionals may treat m.pox with some antiviral drugs used to treat smallpox, such as tecovirimat (TPOXX) or bring cidofovir (Tembexa).
For those unlikely to respond to the vaccine, a healthcare professional may offer vaccinia immune globulin. It has antibodies from people who have been given the smallpox vaccine.
The type of m.pox virus spreading in the 2022 outbreak, called Clade II, rarely leads to death.Remember that m.pox is rare in the U.S. and the m.pox virus doesn't spread easily between people without close contact. But if you have a new rash or any symptoms of m.pox, contact your health care professional. After a year in which nearly 90,000 people got infected with m.pox, and 140 people died, the World Health Organization downgraded the disease in May 2023 from its status as a global health emergency. M.pox had spread rapidly in the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic when awareness of public health was at its extreme position.
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