“Monkeypox can be Transmitted through Secretions Produced by Coughing or Sneezing”

In an exclusive interview with BW Businessworld, Sheela Murali Chakravarthy, Director- Internal Medicine, Fortis Hospital, Karnataka, talks about the Monkeypox outbreak and how we can protect ourselves

- Jyotsna Sharma

How worried should we be about the Monkeypox outbreak?

Monkeypox is a type of orthopox virus that is related to smallpox which started with the monkeys of central and western Africa, spreading the infection to rodents and then onto humans. Incidentally, the first person diagnosed with Monkeypox travelled from India to Southeast Asia. Although this was not the first case detected in India, the number of cases is expected to rise, as more than 3,000 cases have been discovered in the United States.

How does it spread?

Once infected, transmission occurs from human to human. A person in contact with someone with open lesions for an extended period of time, in the form of physical contact such as hugging, kissing, holding hands, or sexual contact, is at high risk of contracting Monkeypox.

FACTS

1: THE VIRUS IS ASSOCIATED WITH SMALLPOX

2: INFECTION-CAUSING ANIMALS ARE MOSTLY FOUND IN THE TROPICAL RAINFORESTS