What is mpox? Causes, symptoms, cure, and how worried should people be

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared that an outbreak of mpox, a viral infection that spreads through close contact, represents a global health emergency for the second time in two years. This comes as the WHO on Thursday confirmed that a case of the viral infection mpox in Sweden was linked to an outbreak in Africa, the first sign of its spread outside the continent a day after the WHO declared the disease a global public health emergency.

Swedish health officials said at a press conference that the person was infected while in Africa with the clade Ib type of mpox involved in the recent outbreak. The person is receiving treatment.

What is mpox and how it is caused

Formerly known as monkeypox, mpox is a disease caused by a virus and is similar to smallpox. Mpox has been a public health problem in parts of Africa for decades.

The virus was first discovered in Denmark in 1958 in monkeys and the first ever human case was in Congo in 1970, and it has had outbreaks ever since.

What are the symptoms of mpox?

The symptoms of mpox start within 1-21 days of exposure and last till 2-4 weeks. The common symptoms include rash, fever, sore throat, headache, muscle ache, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes.

The disease causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions, and is usually mild but can kill. Children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems, such as those with HIV, are all at higher risk of complications.

Some people also experience a painful swelling of their rectum or pain and difficulty when urinating.

How does mpox spread?

Mpox spreads through close contact with an infected person or animal. Person-to-person transmission can happen if there is a direct contact with infectious skin or other lesions such as in the mouth or on genitals. Here are the ways in which the virus can spread from an infected person to another as per the WHO:

• face-to-face (talking or breathing)

• skin-to-skin (touching or vaginal/anal sex)

• mouth-to-mouth (kissing)

• mouth-to-skin contact (oral sex or kissing the skin)

• respiratory droplets or short-range aerosols from prolonged close contact

Meanwhile, animal to person spread of the disease is possible in cases of bites and scratches.

What is the cure?

While early care is important to get the disease under control, the main focus should be on taking case of the rash and managing the pain. Taking an mpox vaccine within four days of contact with someone who has the virus can help prevent the infection. Meanwhile, those who have the virus should be isolated from others. However, in case an infected person is around others, covering lesions and wearing a medical mask may help prevent spread. Similarly, using condoms during sex will help reduce the risk of getting mpox, however, it will not prevent spread from skin-to-skin or mouth-to-skin contact.

It must be noted that those who have mpox are infectious and can pass the disease on to others until all sores have healed and a new layer of skin is formed.

Should you be worried?

Mpox is a significant health problem that is killing some of the most vulnerable people in the world, including children, and a form of it is possibly spreading in new ways and in new parts of Africa.

But it is not Covid-19. So far, there is no evidence that it spreads through the air easily like Covid, and there are tools that are proven to work to stop the spread and help those at risk.

The challenge now, which the emergency declarations aim to highlight, is making sure those tools reach those who need them most, in Congo and neighbouring countries.

(With Reuters inputs)