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Monkeypox | The spread of the infection surprised scientists because of the mutation of the virus?

2022-05-21T03:53:55.048Z


Over the past week, the monkeypox outbreak has spread, with more than 100 cases detected worldwide. It is a rare disease that is rare in Africa and usually does not occur in different regions and populations. The spread of monkeypox has scientists


Over the past week, the monkeypox outbreak has spread, with more than 100 cases detected worldwide.

It is a rare disease that is rare in Africa and usually does not occur in different regions and populations.

The spread of monkeypox has shocked scientists.

Was this an occasional event, or did monkeypox have a mutation that made it more likely to spread the infection?


Unlike the new coronavirus that plagues the world and can be transmitted by tiny air droplets from aerosols, monkeypox virus relies on bodily fluid contact or close-range flying to spread, so monkeypox generally does not cause large-scale infection.

At the same time, although the name of monkeypox has the word "monkey", the actual cases of monkey infection are very few. Monkeypox is generally carried by rodents, such as squirrels, and is transmitted through bites.

The emergence of this monkeypox epidemic is puzzling. Preliminary genetic analysis data indicates that the circulating monkeypox virus strain seems to come from West Africa.

Compared with the monkeypox virus strain circulating in Central Africa, the West African version causes milder illness and has a mortality rate of only 1%.

But for the time being, scientists have not been able to determine whether monkeypox infections appearing everywhere come from the same virus strain in West Africa.

In 2003, particles of monkeypox virus were photographed under an electron microscope.

(AP)

Viruses mutated?

Addressing this question could help determine whether the West African monkeypox virus strain has accidentally mutated, allowing it to spread more easily than in the past.

But unlike the new coronavirus, the monkeypox virus is a DNA virus, and its genetic material is more complex than the RNA virus of the new coronavirus.

More complex also means that the virus is better at finding and repairing genetic errors, and the ability to mutate is lower than that of the new coronavirus.

Monkeypox and smallpox belong to the same orthopox virus, but compared with smallpox, monkeypox is less infectious and pathogenic, and its lethality is not as good as smallpox.

Smallpox has a long history, having appeared in BC, and monkeypox is believed to have appeared long ago.

Since the smallpox vaccine is effective against monkeypox, after the invention of the smallpox vaccine, while eliminating smallpox, it also suppressed the infection of monkeypox by the way.

It was not until the 1970s, when humans stopped vaccinating against smallpox, and cases of monkeypox infection appeared, that the existence of monkeypox was officially discovered.

The British "Independent" reported on May 20 that the New York government was preparing to purchase a smallpox vaccine to prevent a possible outbreak of monkeypox.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that six people were suspected of being infected with monkeypox, but urged the community not to panic, and the treatment and prevention of smallpox can be applied to monkeypox.

But whether the infection will continue to spread this time remains to be seen.

Monkeypox | More than 100 confirmed or suspected cases in Europe, WHO urgently held a meeting to warn that monkeypox is more severe in summer and more countries recorded the first case: Australia, Canada, Italy and Sweden monkeypox and smallpox are the same?

How monkeypox is contagious and why it caused an outbreak | Newsroom

Source: hk1

All news articles on 2022-05-21

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