monkey pox become one of a series of health problems that hit the world together with COVID-19 and acute hepatitis. There are several ways to avoid monkeypox.
Monkeypox is a close relative of smallpox which usually causes a milder disease. This disease is endemic in West and Central Africa.
Recent reports of monkeypox in the UK, Portugal, Spain and the US have caused concern among international health officials because the pattern of transmission appears unusual.
“We have a level of concern that this is very different from what we normally think about monkeypox,” Jennifer McQuiston, an expert on animal-to-human transmission of the disease at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told STAT. Insider.
Before knowing how to avoid monkeypox, it’s good to know why monkeypox is so contagious.
Once monkeypox enters humans, the virus causes flu-like symptoms including fever, pain, and fatigue, as well as a red rash that will turn into infectious pus-filled boils.
When boils rupture and harden, the infection can spread through direct contact with the lesions. The scabs they cause are very, very contagious, and can even be spread through blankets or bed linen.
“You have lesion material — pus, scabs — all those legions are teeming with a ton of virus, and that virus is very stable,” CDC epidemiologist Andrea McCollum told Insider. “The virus is a double-stranded DNA virus, which is naturally very dangerous.”
According to the CDC, monkeypox can be spread through close face-to-face contact.
Viruses can be spread through exhaled large droplets – such as coughing spray or sneezing.
Transmission is through close contact with infected animals or humans or objects contaminated with the virus.
“Transmission can be through blood, saliva, body fluids, skin lesions or fluid in smallpox, then respiratory droplets,” said Ministry of Health spokesman Mohammad Syahril from the Ministry of Health website.
How to avoid monkey pox
There are several ways to prevent transmission of the monkeypox virus. Here are some ways.
“This is a serious disease, and something that should be avoided and tried to prevent,” said Jimmy Whitworth, an infectious disease expert at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia revealed preventive measures for the community, if you experience symptoms of fever and rash, please check yourself to the nearest health service facility. The public is advised to comply with health protocols by avoiding crowds, washing hands with soap, wearing masks, and practicing clean and healthy lifestyles.
1. Don’t travel
One of the best ways to do this, as McCollum points out, is to try to avoid air travel when you’re sick.
2. Avoid close contact with patients
The disease is transmitted through close contact with infected patients. Avoid close contact with patients, if you have to, don’t forget to wear a mask and wash your hands afterward.
3. Avoid sexual intercourse with the patient
WHO has stated that monkeypox is transmitted through sexual contact due to close contact. However, this does not include infectious diseases.
That is, monkeypox is not transmitted through vaginal fluids or sperm.
However, one way to avoid monkeypox is to avoid sexual contact with people who are infected or possibly infected with this disease.
4. Wear a mask
Just like preventing the spread of COVID-19, the prevention of monkeypox can also be done by wearing a mask.
5. Smallpox vaccine
The chickenpox vaccine is said to be still effective in preventing monkeypox. WHO says the chickenpox vaccine is still 85 percent effective at preventing monkeypox.
Those are some ways to avoid monkeypox.
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