Today, the Ministry of Health issued guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of monkeypox in humans. In the guidelines, the Ministry of Health stated that monkeypox is a rare disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus.
Symptoms of monkeypox can include fever, headache, muscle aches and backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion, respiratory symptoms (e.g. sore throat, nasal congestion, or cough). A rash that can look like pimples or blisters that appears on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body, like the hands, feet, chest, genitals, or anus.
The rash goes through different stages before healing completely. The illness typically lasts 2-4 weeks. Sometimes, people get a rash first, followed by other symptoms. Others only experience a rash. After infection, there is an incubation period of roughly 6-13 days (ranging from 5-21 days. The development of initial symptoms such as fever, malaise, headache, weakness marks the beginning of the prodromal period.
Persons with monkeypox will develop an early set of symptoms (prodrome). A person may sometimes be contagious during this period. The first symptoms include fever, malaise, headache, sometimes sore throat and cough, and lymphadenopathy (swollen lymph nodes).
During the recovery phase, the symptoms of monkeypox can last for 2-4 weeks and then go away. The patient has no clinical symptoms, the scars on the skin can affect the aesthetics and they are not contagious during this period.
The Ministry of Health also divided into three types for monkeypox cases. The third type is that people with asymptomatic person infected with monkeypox virus without any clinical symptoms. Second type is people with mild symptoms who usually resolve after 2-4 weeks without any specific treatment. Finally, severe people are usually in high-risk groups including pregnant women, the elderly, children, people with underlying medical conditions, immunocompromised people which can lead to death, usually from the second week of the disease.
In particular, the Ministry of Health also classified treatment according to disease type. Accordingly, grassroot health facilities in communes, wards, districts will treat asymptomatic cases and mild cases with common symptoms of the disease.
Big infirmaries will provide treatment to severe cases or potentially serious cases including newborns, immunocompromised people, the elderly, underlying diseases, patients with severe complications and pregnant women.
Monkeypox spreads in different ways. The virus can spread from person-to-person through direct contact with the infectious rash, scabs, or body fluids, respiratory secretions during prolonged, face-to-face contact, or during intimate physical contact, such as kissing, cuddling, or sex.
