Veterinarian Kurt Zaeske had an outbreak of monkeypox in the US in 2003.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — Plague monkey pox Recently, there has been a lot of discussion because it has spread in many countries, with the total cases reaching more than 200. However, monkeypox is not a new disease and has caused outbreaks in the past.
In the United States, for example, monkeypox was an epidemic in 2003. A veterinarian named Dr. Kurt Zaeske was one of the people affected by the outbreak.
Dr Zaeske caught monkeypox after handling an infected prairie dog virus monkeypox belongs to the client. Despite being called dogs, prairie dogs are actually burrowing mammals much like squirrels. These prairie dogs contracted the monkeypox virus from Gambian rats.
“It took a few days before I started to feel like a severe flu (after coming into contact with infected prairie dogs),” explains Dr Zaeske, as reported on the website. Eat This Not ThatAhad (29/5/2022).
At that time, Dr. Zaeske was contacted by his client after the Gambian rat and several prairie dogs owned by the client died for unknown reasons. Shortly after, the client and his sister also fell ill.
Therefore, Dr. Zaeske came to euthanize one of his client’s prairie dogs so that they could be examined at a state-owned laboratory in Wisconsin. This examination aims to find out what caused the death of some of the client’s animals.
Dr Zaeske also treats other sick prairie dogs with antibiotics. The administration of the drug appeared to be effective because all of the treated prairie dogs were able to achieve a cure.
Shortly after that, Dr Zaeske also began to feel unwell. According to Dr. Zaeske, some of the early symptoms he experienced were chills, fever, pain, headache, and slight swelling in the lymph nodes.
“Within a week I started to have smallpox-like lesions and there was one severe lesion that appeared only on the thumb,” said Dr Zaeske.
Dr Zaeske then contacted the hospital and informed them of the possibility of an ongoing outbreak. In addition, Dr. Zaeske and his client as well as the client’s sister were also treated with antibiotics.
“I responded pretty well to the antibiotics,” said Dr Zaeske.
According to him, monkeypox lesions last about two weeks. He was worried that he would no longer be able to practice because the lesion on his thumb was quite heavy.
The results of the laboratory examination then showed that the disease he was suffering from was caused by a monkeypox virus infection. Researchers assessed that the virus was brought from Africa via a client’s Gambian rat, then the rat began to transmit the virus to other prairie dogs.
“After healing, the lesions disappeared. Like chicken pox. I have a scar on my thumb, but that’s it,” he said.
Considering that currently there are more than 200 cases of monkeypox found in many countries, there are several things that can be done as prevention efforts. One of them is through the smallpox vaccine (smallpox). Also, avoid close contact with people who seem unwell.
