Nagpur: Just when the whole world was going back to normalcy, the monkeypox virus is forcing people to stay indoors.
Belgium on Sunday became the first country to introduce mandatory quarantine for those infected with the virus. A compulsory 21-day quarantine was made mandatory in the European country. The health authorities took this decision on Friday as per the Saudi Gazette.
Almost 92 cases across 12 countries have been reported as per several media sources. The disease belongs to the same virus family as smallpox, however, the symptoms of this virus are comparatively milder.
History
Monkeypox was first identified in the 1950s when two outbreaks occurred in the colonies of the monkeys used for research purposes. The first human case was reported 20 years later, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970.
The disease is a relative of smallpox which causes a rash that mainly begins on the face and spreads to the rest of the body.
The disease can be caught from a bite by an infected animal or even touching its blood, body fluids and fur. Often spread through rodents such as rats, mice and squirrels. One can also be infected by eating meat from an infected animal that hasn’t been cooked properly.
Symptoms:
If one gets infected with monkeypox, the symptoms usually develop five to 21 days for the first symptoms to appear. These include a fever, a headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen glands, shivering and exhaustion.
Cure:
Currently, there is no specific treatment for the infection. The disease’s mortality rate is one in 10 infected people according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
