Symptoms and causes of monkeypox infection, which the CDC calls a “new problem”

New cases of monkeypox were reported this week in the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Italy and the United States. This is a rare outbreak of the virus, primarily confined to Central and West Africa.

America Reported the first case of monkeypox Wednesday of this year: A man from Massachusetts. The New York City Department of Health said Thursday that it was also investigating possible cases. In England 9 cases were detected From early May. As of Thursday, Italy confirmed one recent case, Portugal 14 cases, Spain 7 cases, and 22 more suspicious cases. France also reported a suspicious incident on Thursday.

“This is the most important outbreak in the history of monkeypox in the Western Hemisphere,” said Henri Moan, a professor of epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.

The last outbreak of monkeypox of this magnitude in the Western Hemisphere was in 2003, she said, with the United States identifying 47 cases.

Those patients were in contact with infected pet prairie dogs and none died. However, disease experts have not pinpointed exactly how the virus is currently spreading.

“What we are facing now seems to be a subset of cases where the monkeypox virus has not traveled to at least one of the naturally occurring African countries and has not reported exposure to anyone. People who have been diagnosed with monkeypox, so it’s rare for us to see them now, “said Dr. Agham Lao, Head of Medical Care for High-Results Pathogens and Pathology at the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention.” I am saying.

Monkeypox does not spread easily among people, but the CDC is preparing for additional cases in the United States, Lao said.

“I’m telling people that this is a new issue,” she said. “Some new issues will eventually become benign. Others will escalate. As a new issue, we are asking people to keep that in mind at this point.”

What is monkeypox?

Monkeypox belongs to the poxvirus family, including smallpox. The disease is named after scientists discovering it among monkeys in 1958. The first human monkeypox case was diagnosed in 1970.

Since then, most infectious diseases have been concentrated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria.Democratic Republic of the Congo Report thousands of cases Every year, Nigeria Reported over 200 confirmed cases and over 500 suspicious cases After 2017.

The types of monkeypox identified in recent US and European cases tend to cause milder illness than other common branches of the virus.

“In all of these cases that have occurred in the last two weeks, all of the strains we recognize are West African clade. The West African clade of monkeypox is far more than the Clade of the Congolese basin. It’s benign, “Lao said. “That’s good news. Hopefully there won’t be a lot of bad things that happen clinically to people who may be infected.”

Approximately 1% of people who contract a West African ramification group die, compared to up to 10% of those who contract a ramification group in the Congo Basin. According to the World Health Organization..

Lao said those who had the West African ramifications “usually recovered quite a bit” and “returned to normal life when they were done.”

Humans can get monkeypox from animals by preparing meat from bites, scratches, or wild games. CDC..

Human-to-human transmission can occur by exchanging large respiratory droplets during prolonged face-to-face contact. People can also be exposed by direct contact with body fluids, lesions formed during infection, or contaminated items such as clothing and bedding.

Monkeypox is not considered a sexually transmitted disease, although many of the newly identified cases in Europe are among men who have sex with men.

“It’s probably premature to assume that there are only cases within that community, and it’s even potentially harmful,” Lao said.

She added that the overexpression of this group could be the product of skin-to-skin contact within a close community.

“There will be a need for research related to trying to isolate the virus from semen or vaginal fluid. There is really a lot of work to do before saying that it can lead to a sexually transmitted disease,” she said. Said.

Monkeypox usually begins with flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle aches, and fatigue. Patients may have a rash on the face or other parts of the body within 1 to 3 days of fever.

The rash resembles chickenpox, syphilis, and herpes, but is characterized by fluid-filled blisters on the palm called vesicles.

Symptoms can occur 5 to 21 days after someone is infected. Most people recover after 2-4 weeks.

After the first case was identified in the United States, the CDC instructed healthcare providers to look for patients with the characteristic monkeypox rash.

“We recommend this to all clinicians, especially those who care for patients in the STD clinic,” Rao said, referring to sexually transmitted diseases.

So far, according to Limoin, the recent infection “seems to be a fairly mild case found in the clinic, not because people are severely ill in the emergency room.”

Limoin said it makes sense that new cases of monkeypox continue to grow, as people are less immune to the poxvirus than they were before 1980, when they were still vaccinated against smallpox.

“Given that the immunity we expected during the eradication of the smallpox era is no longer present, it is not surprising that the infection is seen as a result of exposure,” she said.

There is no proven cure for monkeypox, but doctors can treat the condition. Limoin said supportive care is quite effective for the West African ramification group. Beyond that, she said, there are some drugs that have not been widely tested in people.

The doctor who identified the suspected case of monkeypox should report it to the CDC. “Potential treatments that may be offered to patients are actually only available through consultation with public health authorities,” Lao said.

According to the CDC, smallpox vaccines may help control the development of monkeypox, but the United States stopped vaccination of smallpox to the general public in 1972. In 2019, the Food and Drug Administration approved the smallpox vaccine It also protects people from monkeypox, but it is not widely available. Experts believe that vaccination immediately after someone is infected can help alleviate symptoms and prevent illness. The CDC website “If monkeypox reoccurs in the United States, the CDC will establish guidelines explaining who should be vaccinated.”

So far, Lao said the risk to the general public is very low.

“I don’t want people to be too vigilant now and change their behavior too much,” she said.

This story first appeared NBCNews.com..