What is Mpox and How to prevent it

What Is Mpox And How To Prevent It?

By this time you might have heard about the recent outbreak of the mpox virus. A virus originated in Africa and is now declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO).

But what is mpox? How contagious is it? Is there any treatment for it? And how to prevent it? You will have all your answers in this article.

What Is Mpox?

For those who are hearing this name for the first time, mpox (or monkeypox) is an infectious, rare disease that is quite similar to smallpox which is caused by the monkeypox virus (commonly abbreviated as MPXV). It originates from Africa and is now spreading to other regions of the world. People who suffer from mpox start to face initial symptoms such as fever and high body temperature, followed by severe ‘rash conditions’ that can take weeks to clear. At this moment, there is no approved treatment for mpox. However if done with proper care, mpox can go away on its own.

Where Does Mpox Come From?

In the last few days, there has been a huge spike in the number of mpox cases around the Democratic Republic of Congo and a few other African nations. In 2024 there have been around 17,000 infected cases with over 500 deaths from the mpox virus. Right now there are almost 13 African nations currently affected by mpox. However, an alarming situation arose when the first mpox case was identified in Sweden on 15th August 2024.

Due to this surge and outburst of mpox, the World Health Organization has declared it a global health emergency.

Types Of Mpox

There are two types of monkeypox virus. Clade 1 and Clade 2

Clade 1

This is the fatal type of the two which causes severe illness and death. Some of the clade 1 outbreaks have killed up to 10% of the people who were initially infected by it. Clade 1 mpox mostly originates from Central Africa.

Clade 2

Although this type is the one causing the global outbreak, clade 2 mpox is less severe and has almost a 99.9% recovery rate if taken proper precautionary steps. This type mostly comes from West Africa.

How Mpox Is Transmitted

The Mpox virus is spread in 3 ways.
Human to Human
The first risk of getting the mpox virus is to get in contact with someone who is already infected. The disease can spread through touching, kissing, or during sex. Since infectious respiratory particles can travel to your body through the air, it’s better to avoid talking and breathing near someone who is infected with mpox.
Humans to Animals
Humans who carry this virus can transmit this disease to animals by touching, sneezing, petting or even breathing near animals.
Animals that can potentially suffer from the mpox virus can be their pets, their cattle, livestock, or even wildlife animals.
Animals to Humans
The most common species that can carry this virus is a monkey (hence the name, monkeypox). It can also be transmitted through squirrels (rodents) that also have the ability to carry mpox. During encounters, the virus can spread through their bites, scratches, etc.
Also with some activities like hunting, skinning, or trapping infected animals, the chances of getting mpox significantly increase.

Symptoms Of Mpox

It can take from several days up to a few weeks for the mpox symptoms to show up. But once they do, they can start off with:
  1. Chills
  2. Fever
  3. Fatigue
  4. Rashes
  5. Headache
  6. Muscle Aches
  7. Swollen Lymph Nodes
Rashes start to appear on your surface skin as flat, red bumps. These bumps can be itchy and painful. With time, those bumps convert into blisters which are then filled with pus. With time, the blisters crust over and eventually fall over. This whole process can take up to 2 to 4 weeks.
What-Is-Monkeypox-And-How-To-Prevent-It
However, if you are suffering from mpox, you might not face all of these mpox symptoms. Some of the common ones are:
  1. Only rashes with other symptoms may develop later.
  2. Flu, followed by rashes
  3. A few bumps or blisters around the body
In case you feel you are suffering from the monkeypox virus, it’s best to consult your doctor who can further guide you with proper diagnosis and prevention steps.
how-to-prevent-mpox

How To Treat Mpox?

Unfortunately, currently no mpox vaccine has been approved specifically for the virus. However, the UN health agency does recommend a few vaccines that can be used against mpox.

Still, it’s best to survive this illness by following the mpox prevention methods discussed in the table below. Since the illness lasts for 2-4 weeks, it’s best to

  • Keep yourself safe
  • Avoid any physical contact
  • Keep yourself dry and clean
  • Wear a mask and gloves in public
  • Avoid contact with frequently touched spaces

How To Deal With Mpox As A Practitioner

As mpox has been declared as a public health emergency, you as a practitioner, should take all necessary steps to cater to all the people who come to you with mpox illness. As one of the healthcare providers, you must be equipped with advanced medical billing, healthcare revenue cycle management, and EHR software services. That’s where you can rely on MaxRemind to provide you with top-notch billing, provider enrollment, credentialing, and other provider-focused services.

MaxRemind Inc. has been operating for 20 years as one of the leading software providers in the healthcare industry. We offer you a complete package where we take care of your billing, EHR software (our flagship Maximus EHR software), and other technical tasks. These are the tasks that can potentially divert your focus from treating your patients and tangle you in administrative stuff.

All-in-all, it’s best to stay safe from this newly spread global illness and properly focus on preventing it from further spreading. Plus, it’s always the best idea to keep in touch with updated news (like from the CDC about mpox).