Monkeypox: The Basics for Nurses
In the past, cases of monkeypox only occasionally occurred outside of central and western Africa, where the disease is endemic, and it was virtually always related to travel or to the inappropriate relocation of wild animals. (In the US in 2003, 71 cases of monkeypox in six states were traced to pet prairie dogs that had been imported in the “exotic animals” trade.) What should we make of the outbreaks this year in 23 countries where the disease is rarely seen?
Current cases of monkeypox are occurring in people without a history of travel to endemic areas, and in some cases without obvious contact to known cases. Most of these people have had mild disease, though monkeypox can cause severe disease in young children, pregnant women, and immunosuppressed individuals. While monkeypox usually is not highly transmissible nor deadly, it has never spread to so many countries seemingly simultaneously.
A close relative of smallpox.
Monkeypox is a close relative of smallpox, and the smallpox vaccine also prevents monkeypox infection. Many experts point to the end of mass smallpox vaccination campaigns as a factor in the emergence of cases at this time. Forty years ago, about 80% of the population was vaccinated against smallpox; today that figure is only about 30%. Monkeypox cases have been on the rise since smallpox was declared to be eradicated in 1980. In one monkeypox-endemic region, cases had increased twentyfold in recent decades. At the same […]
