How to identify if you have monkeypox

Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis - meaning a virus transmitted to humans from animals.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is called monkeypox because it was first identified in laboratory monkeys.

It was first discovered in 1958 and the first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), reports CDC. 

Although the viral disease mostly occurs in central and western Africa, since 13 May 2022, cases of monkeypox have been reported to WHO from 12 Member States that are not endemic for monkeypox virus, across three WHO regions. The countries are Benin, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana (identified in animals only), Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, and Sierra Leone.

READ: Monkeypox: a rare disease with low fatality rates

The World Health Organisation reports that cases of monkeypox have mainly but not exclusively been identified amongst men who have sex with men (MSM) seeking care in primary care and sexual health clinics.

It also reports that those who are most at risk are those who have had close physical contact with someone with monkeypox while they are symptomatic. 

Below are seven symptoms that those infected with monkeypox might have: 

- Fever

- Intense headache

- Lymphadenopathy (swelling of the lymph nodes)

- Back pain

- Myalgia (muscle aches) 

- Intense asthenia (lack of energy).

- Rash on the face, palms of the hands and soles of the feet. 

According to WHO, symptoms las for two to four weeks.

The good news is that most people recover from it. "Monkeypox is usually a self-limited disease with the symptoms lasting from 2 to 4 weeks. Severe cases can occur. In recent times, the case fatality ratio has been around 3-6%," reports WHO. 

READ: NICD: No confirmed cases of monkeypox in SA

Image courtesy of iStock/ @Paco Burgada