“We do not have an alarming situation”

The World Health Organization last declared an international health emergency in 2020 yearWhen COVID-19 came into our lives. Paralyze them for 3 months. Now the emergency is activated again, this time for monkey pox.

Following the WHO decision, Brussels is studying the cataloguing, and in Spain, the Ministry of Health is assembling a technical team. They have already died more than 500 people so far this year, 160% more infections than in the same period last year, according to information provided by the Director-General of the United Nations.

Jose Antonio Lopez Guerrero, Professor of microbiology at the Autonomous University of Madrid and virologist, explains that mpox virusalso known as monkeypox, “is a virus that has been circulating for a long time, so it is not a new virus that has emerged like SARS-CoV-2, the Covid-19 virus.”

Spain was one of the countries where there were the most cases of this virus a couple of years ago, he continues to comment on where it was nearly 9,000 infected with Clade II variantwhile “to date, not a single case of the new subtype IB has been registered in our territory.” The latter will spread in the region south of the Sahara and will be “one of the reasons why the WHO declared an international emergency.” An alarm signal that this organization wanted to give to both epidemiological surveillance centers and disease control centers, make coordinated decisions.

“The virus is transmitted through close contact, not sexual contact”

López Guerrero explains that this infection “is a DNA virus,” meaning “it is a virus that mutates less than RNA viruses.” In this sense vaccine They are effective, he adds, but at the moment neither Europe nor the WHO have decided to carry out a “global vaccination of the population”. Although it is recommended that these at-risk groups Those exposed to the virus require vaccination.

Who is recommended to get vaccinated?

“The virus is transmitted closely, not sexually,” he clarifies, adding that “sexual means are one of them, but not the only one”The virologist claims that those people who engage in “sexual practices that may be risky in an epidemiological sense” should be vaccinated.

On the other hand, “healthcare workers who directly care for staff who are susceptible to infection. I would perhaps even extend this to other groups of possible contacts with susceptible people, such as border control,” are also advised to be included in these lists of possible vaccinations. That is, anyone who “actually has direct contact with people who may be infected in the course of their daily work.”

Lopez Guerrero conveys peace of mind

Virologist Lopez Guerrero wanted to send message of peace given the rise in monkeypox. “Today, given the scientific data we have, we are not in an alarming demographic situation,” he says.

What is the difference between a DNA virus and an RNA virus?

As the expert explained to us, monkeypox is DNA virusand not RNA. What is the difference between them? DNA viruses have much lower mutation rate for its ability to correct host cell DNA polymerases.

However, the mutation rate of RNA viruses is very high. This is due to the absence of DNA polymerases that detect and correct errors.

Mortality rate up to 10%.

There are currently two types of variants circulating. The old one, known as Hoard II and the least serious, and the new one, Clade I. The latter has declared a health emergency due to the rising number of cases. Its transmission is higher, as is the severity and even mortality rate.

In 2022, monkeypox (clade I) had a fatality rate of 1%. Now, with the new variant – Clade II – the rate has increased to 10%.

These are his symptoms.

Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by a virus of the same name. Most of those infected manages to recover in a few weeksThis was reported by the Ministry of Health. The incubation period can vary from 5 to 21 days, although on average 7 and 10 days.

Some of the symptoms this infection presents are:

• High temperature
• Skin rashes
• Headaches and muscle pain
• Swelling of nodes
• Fatigue

Likewise, symptoms can last from 2 to 4 weeks. The most severe cases tend to occur among traditionally vulnerable groups, such as children, pregnant women, young adults, and people with weakened immune systems.

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