SCIENTISTS fear Americans are not being vigilant about the current uptick in Monkeypox cases. A study conducted in July revealed that many American citizens have forgotten about the terrible Mpox disease which saw a dramatic rise two years ago. According to a study, which was conducted by Annenberg Science and Public Health, only five percent of Americans are worried about contracting Mpox in the next three months.
This number is way down from the 21 percent surveyed in 2022 when the disease was making its way across the US in July and August, reports Science Daily . It was also revealed that fewer than 17 percent knew that mpox was less contagious than covid-19 which is down from the previously surveyed 41 percent. Only a third of participants revealed that they knew that gay men were more likely to contract the disease as opposed to the 63 percent surveyed in 2022.
Read More On mpox The study also shows that less than half of the respondents knew that there was already a vaccine in place to help cure the disease. "The speed with which the public learned needed information about Mpox in the summer of 2022 was a tribute to effective communication by the public health community," Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, told the outlet. "That same expertise should now be deployed to ensure that those at risk remember mpox's symptoms, modes of transmission, and the protective power of vaccination.
" The ASAPH survey comes as a new, deadlier strain of the virus — dubbed clade 2 — has seen a surge in the Democratic Republic of Congo . Most read in Health Warning signs of the possible outbreak were first noticed in April when experts discovered an easier-to-contract strain with “pandemic potential” in a small mining town in the DRC called Kamituga . The strain is reportedly more deadlier with a fatality rate of five percent in adults and ten percent in children.
Reports from the DRC indicate that there have been over 29,000 cases and 1,100 fatalities — many of them children — since the beginning of 2023. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization , posted on X that many experts were worried about the new strain.
Dr. Ghebreyesus said that the disease has "potential for further international spread within and outside of Africa." “I am considering convening an International Health Regulations emergency committee to advise me on whether the outbreak of Mpox should be declared a public health emergency of international concern," he added.
The most obvious mpox symptom is the hallmark spots. According to the NHS, these lesions go through four stages, from flat spots to raised spots, to blisters to scabs. But people are also likely to experience flu-like symptoms, which will begin between five and 21 days after infection.
The symptoms often get better by themselves over two to four weeks. The NHS says these include: Inflammation of the rectum (proctitis) – for example, pain or bleeding from your back passage High temperature (fever) Headache Flu-like symptoms, including muscle and back aches, shivering and tiredness Swollen glands that feel like new lumps (in the neck, armpits or groin) If you have some of these symptoms and believe you could have monkeypox, you should stay at home, avoid close contact with others and get medical help by phone until you’re assessed. There are some complications associated with mpox, such as bacterial infection from skin lesions, mpox affecting the brain ( encephalitis ), heart ( myocarditis ) or lungs (pneumonia) A spokesperson for the WHO told the U.
S. Sun said that the rapid spread of Mpox and the potential of another global pandemic "are causes for concern." "Mpox can be contained, and human-to-human transmission eliminated, with rapid outbreak response and the right public health measures.
" Since the post, the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that four other countries have started reporting cases of the virus bringing the total number of infected countries to 13. A report from the agency indicated that there have been 517 virus-related deaths from the 17,541 confirmed and suspected human cases. The African CDC has since called for "global solidarity" while asking for 10 million vaccine doses, reports Politico .
According to the agency, the country currently has only 200,000 vaccines available. Specialists appointed by the WHO are slated to meet with Dr. Ghebreyesus this week on whether or not to declare the virus a public health emergency of international concern.
Those who have contracted the disease reported flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. Until recently, most Mpox cases had been contained to central and west Africa. Read More on The US Sun In 2022, the WHO declared a public health emergency when a strain called clade 2 found its way to 100 countries.
In May 2022, the CDC said there had been about 32,000 confirmed cases of Mpox in the US..
