Must read: 7 key ways monkeypox can be transmitted

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has
announced that there is a suspected outbreak of
a viral disease called monkeypox in Bayelsa
state.
In the press release, members of the public were
urged to remain calm, alert and know the signs
and symptoms of the disease
Khodedbaze.com.ng earlier reported that a medical doctor
and 10 others were down with the disease and
were being quarantined in an isolation centre at
the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital,
Okolobiri, in Yenagoa local government area of
the state.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention
has listed the major facts about the disease.
Monkeypox is not a newly discovered disease, it
has been known for decades, although relatively
rare.
Dr Charles-Davies OA, a medical doctor and
founder of 25 Doctors, a platform where you can
ask doctors questions online, spoke to
Khodedbaze.com.ng about the ways the disease is
transmitted.

Here are 7 different ways the disease is transmitted:
1. Contact with infected monkeys
Monkeypox is caused by a virus. The virus has
been previously isolated in animals like monkeys,
rats and squirrels.
Human outbreaks are more likely to be spread
from infected animals than from a human to
another human. Close contact with infected
monkeys can spread the virus to humans.
Monkeys are sometimes hunted in rural areas,
and touching an infected monkey, even a dead
monkey can make a person contract the disease.

2. Contact with infected rodents
Rodents like rats and squirrels can transmit the
monkeypox virus to human beings if they are
infected. The virus is present in the blood, body
fluids and secretions of infected rodents.
Close contact with these mammals when infected
can increase the chances of a human outbreak.
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3. Bites and scratches from infected animals
The virus is usually found in the blood and body
fluids of infected animals including saliva. A bite
or scratch can cause skin breakage and lead to
the transfer of the virus from the infected animal
to a human.

4. Eating inadequately cooked meat
In some parts of Nigeria, rodents are consumed
as ‘bush-meat’. In fact, it is a known delicacy.
Eating rodents during a monkeypox outbreak can
increase the likelihood of contracting the
disease, because a dead infected rodent can still
contain the virus.
As a rule, all meat should be properly cooked, as
this can decrease the likelihood of getting
infected, thorough cooking kills the virus.
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5. Contact with respiratory secretions of an
infected person
Monkeypox can be spread by respiratory droplets
or secretions. An example is a sneeze. When an
infected person coughs or sneezes, thousands of
respiratory droplets are released into the air.
This is why infected persons are usually treated
in isolation wards to prevent the transmission of
the virus to members of the public.

6. Contact with blood, body fluids, rash of an
infected person
Contact with body fluids of an infected person
can spread the virus. Examples of body fluids
are saliva, tears and urine. Also, touching a
monkeypox rash can increase the chances of
getting infected with the disease.
This puts health workers at particular risk of
getting infected. It was reported that a doctor
was also infected by the current outbreak in
Bayelsa.
Health professionals often come in contact with
blood and body fluids of ill patients while caring
for them and hence are at a relatively increased
risk of getting infected by the virus.

7. Contact with clothing of an infected person
Apart from direct physical contact, the clothing or
materials used by infected person can lead to an
indirect transmission.
The virus can be found on materials like clothes
and bedsheets even when the person has
removed them or isn’t lying down on the sheets.
Close contact with these materials can increase
the chances of being infected.

Source:- https://www.25doctors.com/