What You Need to Know About Monkeypox

On July 23, following months of rising case counts in numerous countries, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared monkeypox a global health emergency. That label is meant to prompt a coordinated global response, with the aim of getting the virus’ spread under control. After that development on the global scale, you may be wondering what the monkeypox outbreak means for your own health. “This is an infection that we need to be aware of,” says Dr. Roy Gulick, chief of infectious disease at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian. “But people don’t need to be fearful of it.” [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Here’s what to know. What are the symptoms of monkeypox? Monkeypox is related to the virus that causes smallpox. Monkeypox symptoms are similar to those associated with smallpox, but they’re not as severe; the disease is rarely fatal. Someone infected with monkeypox can experience flu-like symptoms—such as fever, muscle aches, headaches, swollen lymph nodes, and chills—and a blister-like rash, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Some people get a rash across large swaths of their body, while others get only a few lesions or blemishes in non-obvious places, such as inside the mouth or the genitals and anus. Where is monkeypox spreading? The WHO has recorded more than 16,000 monkeypox cases in 75 countries, ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Disease healthscienceclimate Source Type: news