Harianjogja.com, JAKARTA – Plague monkey pox or Monkeypox spread to make many people worried. It is stated that there is no specific cure for this disease, so how to treat it?
To note, this disease is caused by monkeypox virus or Monkeypox virus (MPXV) which is still included in the Orthopoxvirus genus. Monkeypox is a type of disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans and vice versa (zoonosis).
Basically, monkeypox (monkeypox) is a rare disease. At first it only spread in endemic areas such as central and western Africa.
However, in recent months monkey pox spread rapidly beyond the plains of Africa to infect at least more than 40 countries. After this phenomenon, health experts globally are working together to reduce the burden and reduce the spread of monkeypox outbreaks by establishing monkeypox as a global health emergency.
Reporting from Healthline, cases of monkeypox have been increasing since May 2022. Experts are not only trying to raise public awareness but also trying to use vaccines and looking for drugs to prevent and treat this virus.
So what are the symptoms of monkeypox?
Reporting from Healthline, Doctor Rajiv Bahl explained that the symptoms of monkeypox that appear generally tend to be mild and overall are not life threatening for most people. However, the pain and condition of the body after contracting this disease can be severe.
Symptoms of rash and flu can appear within a few weeks of being infected. In addition, lymphadenopathy, or enlarged lymph nodes, also appears after upper respiratory symptoms begin to become inflamed.
Meanwhile, the classic symptoms of monkeypox are basically not much different from other smallpox in general, such as swelling in several parts of the body. Skin lesions can appear in various areas of the body including the face, hands, feet, chest, genitals, buttocks, and sometimes inside the mouth because this virus is mostly transmitted through close contact including sexual or intimate contact.
How Is It Treated and What Treatment Options Are Available?
Until now, there is no specific treatment that is claimed to be able to cure monkeypox infection. However, health workers use several drugs that are considered to have the potential to have a positive impact in severe cases.
Reported from Healthline on Friday (29/7/2022), most cases of monkeypox recovered only with the use of drugs intended for symptomatic treatment. However, more severe cases can be treated with an antiviral drug called Tecovirimat or TPOXX. Although this drug is claimed to have a positive effect on monkeypox patients, the use of this drug must be under the supervision of a doctor.
The use of Tecovirimat was approved in 2018 for the treatment of smallpox in adults and children. But the use of Tecovirimat has not been studied further in patients with monkeypox.
While clinical trials in animals have shown that Tecovirimat is thought to have efficacy when treating all diseases caused by the orthopox virus, including monkeypox.
Generally, the use of these drugs is intended for sufferers or patients with severe monkeypox. If the patient has only mild symptoms, the Monkeypox infection rate in the body can decrease on its own within 4 weeks. With the condition that the patient must have sufficient rest time and be assisted with vitamins that are able to stimulate the growth of antibodies or body resistance.
“Currently tecovirimat is only available from the CDC-sponsored expanded access program for patients at high risk of complications – those who are immunocompromised, pregnant, and children under eight years old – or those with severe disease such as eye lesions, oral, or anogenital. areas, diffuse lesions, or encephalitis,” says Dr. Roy Gulick, Head of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Weill Medical College of Cornell University.
Another drug that is said to be able to treat monkeypox infection is brincidofovir or CMX001. However, despite that all these drugs are still not evenly available to all doctors and pharmacies.
“The main choice for treatment is Tecovirimat which is not currently available in all hospitals or pharmacies and must be obtained through specialists in collaboration with the health department or CDC,” explained Dr. Jeremey Walker, assistant professor at the University of Alabama in the Birmingham Division of Infectious Diseases.
Monkeypox Prevention
The disease is spread by close contact, as the lesions can contain the virus, and exposure to the lesions can lead to the development of the disease.
Check out how to prevent infection or the spread of the monkeypox virus:
1. Avoid close contact with people who are infected and people who have a rash that looks like monkeypox.
2. Avoid handling clothing, sheets, blankets, or other materials that have been in contact with infected animals or people.
3. Isolate people who are infected with monkeypox from healthy people.
4. Wash hands regularly with soap and water after contact with infected people or animals.
5. Avoid animals that may carry the virus.
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