A monkey pox It doesn’t usually cause serious health problems for those infected over the long term, but in children and patients in risk groups, researchers have previously linked the infection to vision problems and brain inflammation, known as the name encephalitis.
One of the main complications presented is conjunctivitis., which was present in 23% of patients identified during outbreaks between 2010 and 2013 in Congo. This feature was even more common in children under 10 who had symptoms such as a sore throat, nausea, and sensitivity to light.
When conjunctivitis is present, there is a risk of scarring that can lead to loss of vision. In a study that analyzed approximately 330 patients between 1981 and 1986 in what is now the Congo region, it was concluded that people infected by animals had more serious sequelae than those infected by other humans.
“Cases that can lead to blindness and inoculation of the virus into the eye do not happen to everyone. But, of all the consequences of monkeypox, this is perhaps the most common,” explains virologist Clarissa Damaso, from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and adviser to the World Health Organization (WHO) committee for research on the smallpox virus, in an interview with Folha de S .Paulo.
The virologist explains that eye problems can occur when a person touches a bodily wound caused by monkeypox and then touches the eye without cleaning their hand first. She says this is because, as with illnesses like chicken pox, when the sores dry out they start to itch, and rubbing your eyes with your hands can be unintentional. Clarissa warns patients not to touch their eye in any way.
Recently, several countries have recorded cases of patients diagnosed with monkeypox, a rare disease caused by the monkeypox virus. According to the WHO, the disease is not considered serious: the mortality rate is 1 case out of 100. However, this is the first time that it has been identified on a large scale outside the African continent.Getty Images
****Photo-person-who-coughs-droplets.jpgThe disease was first diagnosed in humans in 1970. According to the profile of patients currently infected, mostly homosexuals or men who have sex with men (MSM), specialists suspect possible contamination by sexual contact, as well as contact with wounds to sick people or droplets released when breathingLucas Ninno/Getty Images
****Photo-sick-person-sitting-on-sofa.jpgAccording to the U.S. Department of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, can spread monkeypox through contact with contaminated bodily fluids or shared objects (such as clothing and bedding).”Roos Koole/Getty Images
****Image-monkey-lying-on-tree.jpgInitially, monkeypox is transmitted through contact with infected monkeys or rodents, and is more common in African countries. Prior to the current outbreak, only four countries outside the continent had identified cases in history.Seng Chye Teo/Getty Images
****Photo-child-with-smallpox-3.jpgSymptoms of the disease include fever, headache, body and back pain, swollen lymph nodes, exhaustion and chills. There are also spots that appear all over the body (mainly the face, hands and feet) and evolve forming scabs which then fall off.Wong Yu Liang/Eye Em/Getty Images
****Photo-child-with-smallpoxThe incubation period for the virus varies from seven to 21 days, but symptoms, which can be very itchy or painful, usually appear after 10 days.Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images
****Photo-person-taking-injection.jpgBecause it is a disease very similar to smallpox, the vaccine against the disease also serves to prevent contamination. In severe cases, treatment includes antiviral drugs and the use of blood plasma from immune individuals.Natalia Gdovskaia/Getty Images
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Another complication associated with monkeypox in previous studies is encephalitis, caused by a infection that leads to inflammation of the brain. During an outbreak of the disease in the United States in 2003, only one child in a family infected with the virus developed encephalitis, while the parents showed more common symptoms.
Early symptoms of encephalitis in young children are severe headache, drowsiness, compulsions, mental confusion, and motor difficulties. For the professor of graduate studies in infectious and parasitic diseases at UFRJ, Marzia Puccioni, parents and pediatricians must be aware of these symptoms.
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