Increasing community awareness and teaching healthcare professionals on infection prevention and transmission control are key components of monkeypox prevention and control
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DECEMBER , 2023 | THE HEALTH
23
SEPSIS ALERT
BY ASSOC PROF DR TAN TOH LEONG
AND DR AZLIN ITHNIN
EVER since the Covid-19 virus landed in our community a few years back , we have been quite anxious every time our family members are struck by fever , especially when it is contagious .
We started to get anxious again when we heard that viruses were possibly spread by monkeys sometime in July this year . However , it is somewhat of a misnomer .
MONKEYPOX : WHAT IS IT ?
Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by , as the name suggests , the monkeypox virus . It is a member of the same family as the cowpox and smallpox viruses .
However , it has nothing to do with chickenpox viruses . The virus was initially identified in 1958 and was found in monkey colonies .
The majority of cases were connected to nations in central and western Africa . Monkeypox infections resemble smallpox cases in terms of symptoms , albeit they are generally considered to be less severe . Zoonosis ,
No monkey business
Increasing community awareness and teaching healthcare professionals on infection prevention and transmission control are key components of monkeypox prevention and control
or animal-to-human illness , causes monkeypox , and cases are frequently seen near tropical rainforests where the virus-carrying animals reside . Animal hosts of the virus include squirrels , rats , dormice , and rodents , but only rarely by monkeys , unlike what the name suggests .
Between July and November of this year , nine cases of monkeypox infections were documented in Malaysia , including eight instances involving natives and one foreigner . Four of the most recent cases were reported in the Federal Capital , with the first two occurring in Kuala Lumpur in July , the third and fourth in Selangor , and the fifth in Sarawak on Nov 5 .
Monkeypox can also spread from humans to humans . Contact with bodily fluids , skin lesions , respiratory droplets , contaminated items or internal mucosal surfaces like the mouth or throat can all spread the infection .
The symptoms that can be seen in patients who acquired this disease include fever , a broad , recognisable rash and typically enlarged lymph nodes . It is critical to differentiate monkeypox from other infections , including measles , scabies , syphilis , chickenpox and allergies related to medication .
INCREASING COMMUNITY AWARENESS
The time it takes for monkeypox to incubate can vary from five to 21 days . Symptoms of the febrile stage of the disease include fever , severe headache , back pain , myalgia ( muscle ache ), lymphadenopathy ( swelling of the lymph nodes ), and severe asthenia ( lack of energy ), which typically lasts one to three days .
The skin eruption stage , which lasts for two to four weeks , comes after the feverish period . The skin changes evolve from macules , which have a flat base , to papules , which are elevated , painful lesions , to vesicles , which are lesions filled with clear fluid , to pustules , which are lesions filled with pus . These lesions develop over time .
Depending on the symptoms , patients affected with monkeypox receive mainly supportive care . Increasing community awareness and teaching healthcare professionals on infection prevention and transmission control are key components of monkeypox prevention and control .
Avoiding close contact with contaminated goods or diseased individuals is advised . Gloves and other personal protective equipment should be used when caring for the sick at home or in a medical facility .
Contact with ill or dead animals should be avoided to prevent monkeypox infections from emerging from a primary animal-to-human transmission . Additionally , all food containing animal meat or parts must be thoroughly prepared before consumption .
The elimination of routine smallpox immunisation , which historically provided some crossprotection , has made populations more vulnerable to monkeypox . It has already been demonstrated that vaccination against smallpox using the first-generation vaccinia virus-based smallpox vaccine is 85 per cent effective in preventing monkeypox .
Individuals who were vaccinated against smallpox as children , including the public , health professionals , and laboratory workers , may still possess some protection against this disease . - The Health
Assoc Prof Dr Tan Toh Leong is Senior Lecturer and Emergency Medical Consultant , UKM Medical Center , Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia ( UKM ) and President & Founder of Malaysian Sepsis Alliance ( MySepsis ) while Dr Azlin Ithnin is Senior Lecturer and Chemical Pathologist Consultant , UKM Medical Center , UKM and Vice President of MySepsis
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