VITN Blog #3: Monkeypox: UK's First Case of Rare Viral Infection confirmed

Monkeypox, which is a part of the orthopoxvirus genus and poxviridae family, was first observed in a group of monkeys in the late 1950s. About ten years later in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), the first case of Monkeypox was recorded in humans. Since then, the disease has mostly stayed in western and central African countries. According the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the viral infection begins with symptoms including backaches, swollen lymph nodes, and fever. Closely following the fever is a rash which usually begins on the face before spreading to other parts of the infected person’s body. Monkeypox has shown to be deadly in about 10% of all reported cases. African rodents are considered the main carriers of the disease, and human-to-human transmission requires direct contact. Recently, a Nigerian naval officer who traveled to the U.K. for training was found to be infected by Monkeypox. According to the Telegraph (an English tabloid), the infected man is likely to have contracted the disease in Nigeria where there is an ongoing outbreak of Monkeypox. English health officials estimate that more than 50 people could have been exposed to the viral disease.

(Check out the full story here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09/08/50-people-could-have-exposed-rare-viral-infection-uks-first/)

-Ezra Yoseph