Monkeypox has exploded globally, with confirmed cases approaching 10,000.
Recently, according to media reports, a large-scale global outbreak of "monkeypox" has occurred again. At present, WHO has discovered 9,200 cases of "monkeypox" in 63 countries. Confirmed cases, this is the fastest spreading virus in recent years besides COVID-19. Medical experts from various countries are working day and night to study the "monkeypox" epidemic trend and corresponding prevention and control measures.
Discussions on this matter have already exploded on the Internet. Many netizens said: Hasn't the "monkeypox" virus been conquered by humans? Why the sudden outbreak? Some netizens also said: The spread of "monkeypox" this time is too alarming, and it seems that someone is behind all this. But what is the reality? Will "monkeypox" really cause a global outbreak? What are the sequelae of infection? Follow ScienceBeast to learn the latest news as soon as possible.
The history of the spread of monkeypox
In fact, looking back at the entire history of the spread of the "monkeypox" virus, we can find that this is not the first large-scale outbreak of "monkeypox". It can even be said that with the current level of human medical care, it is impossible to deal with "monkeypox". "monkeypox" has been dealt with with ease, but why does this outbreak of "monkeypox" make experts from all over the world feel threatened? The reason is very simple. It is simply that "monkeypox" has undergone some unknown and uncontrollable mutation. How can we say this? Let’s first take a look at what monkeypox initially “looks like.”
Monkeypox was first discovered in 1958. Although it is essentially a zoonotic disease, it was already 12 years later in 1970 when the first human infection case appeared. Then "monkeypox" began to spread in Congo , Central Africa , West Africa regions have appeared one after another. After 1970, a total of 11 African countries have reported cases of human infection with "monkeypox". From 1996 to 1997, the first small-scale outbreak of "monkeypox" occurred in Congo, but due to The mortality rate is low, and the symptoms are similar to chickenpox, so it does not attract much attention.
How fast does monkeypox spread?
It was not until 2017 that the large-scale "monkeypox" outbreak in Nigeria was taken seriously. Although there were more than 500 suspected cases and more than 200 confirmed cases on the first day, the case fatality rate was only 3%, which can be said to be relatively high. Compared with other infectious viruses, monkeypox is not too gentle. But why has this global outbreak of monkeypox attracted such great attention from the WHO? What is the difference after mutation, and what sequelae will it leave?
Continuing from the above, if monkeypox is really so easy to solve, the World Health Organization will not issue a global notice. Take the "monkeypox" epidemic that broke out in Nigeria in 2017 as an example. This "monkeypox" epidemic is actually It has continued to this day, and there have been many cases of tourist infection, involving Israel, the United Kingdom, Singapore, the United States and other countries. What is this concept?
How scary is mutated monkeypox?
For example, even if the new coronavirus is spreading, some countries have achieved a brief eradication during its spread, but monkeypox has truly "taken root" in a country for five years, just like a time bomb. The day everyone relaxes their vigilance, large-scale infections will occur. For this reason, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus believes: The global outbreak of monkeypox is an extremely unusual event, and it is worrying no matter what the reason is.
And experts found after research that this outbreak of monkeypox not only spreads faster, but also has a fatality rate that has risen to 10%. What is even more frightening is that judging from the genome mutation rate of monkeypox, monkeypox is becoming adapted to the human body. This means that monkeypox is more contagious and harder to cure. But is monkeypox really going to break out? What are the sequelae of infection with monkeypox?
The speed of spread of this round of monkeypox epidemic
From a time analysis, this round of monkeypox epidemic first appeared in the UK on May 7, 2022. In just 13 days, there were more than 100 confirmed and suspected cases in Europe. By the time On June 24, there were 3,200 confirmed cases of monkeypox. As of July 13, monkeypox had spread to 63 countries around the world, with 9,200 confirmed cases.
The most serious cases are 2034 cases in Spain, 1556 cases in Germany, 1552 cases in the United Kingdom, 865 cases in the United States, and 721 cases in France. It is also worth mentioning that although there are currently no cases in mainland my country, Taiwan has reported a second confirmed case of monkeypox. , the situation is not optimistic. So what are the sequelae of infection with this super "monkeypox"?
Sequelae of monkeypox
Experts’ explanation for this is: Although monkeypox is not the real smallpox, the symptoms are similar. The main symptoms include rashes, herpes, pustules, scabs, etc. Scars will inevitably be left after cure. According to legend, Emperor Kangxi was infected with smallpox.
data records that Emperor Kangxi's facial condition at that time was like a "pockmarked face." Although the disfiguring effect of monkeypox is much lower than that of smallpox, it will also leave scars. Fortunately, it can still be completely eradicated with modern beauty technology.
At the end, what do you think of this global outbreak of monkeypox? Is it a natural mutation, or is there someone behind it? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area for discussion.
