Is Monkeypox the New Covid?

Introduction

While Covid still spreads, World Health Leaders are now grappling with the Monkeypox outbreak. MonkeyPox can be called "Cousin of Smallpox", because MonkeyPox is closely related to Smallpox. As monkeypox cases are increasing speedily in different parts of the world, it is natural for people to feel perturbed about contracting it. 

Health professionals believe that the disease isn't as contagious as Covid-19 and can be spread mainly by close contact with an infected person or bite of an animal. The World Health Organization has identified around 250 confirmed or suspected cases in at least 16 countries. It's making many wonders how this might be compared to the Covid pandemic. But there are clear differences between the two viruses.

What Is MonkeyPox?

Monkeypox is a viral infection and it’s pandemic to parts of 

West Africa and also Central Africa when it is not affecting humans it 

survives in rodents and this is also called zoonotic infection where it 

can jump from non-human animals into humans. 

After someone is exposed to this virus it usually has an incubation period of about 10 to 14 days or up to 21 days then people will feel a bit of a headache they might have some muscle aches and pains, swollen lymph nodes and after a couple of days, you’ll start to get those very distinct lesions. 

Most people do not need a specific type of monkeypox treatment, but a vaccine developed for smallpox and antiviral drugs are effective against monkeypox.

What Is Covid?

Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is a transmissible disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Most people infected with Covid-19 undergo mild to moderate symptoms and also recover without any kind of appropriate treatment. However, some people become critically ill and require medical treatment. The virus can be spread in small fluid droplets from an infected person's mouth or nose when coughing, sneezing, talking, singing, or breathing. 

These particles mostly range from large respirable droplets to small aerosols. If you are near someone with Covid-19 you can become infected by breathing in the virus or by touching a contaminated area and then touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. The virus spreads very easily indoors and in crowded settings.

Can MonkeyPox Be Compared With Covid?

Here monkeypox is not supposed to be compared with Covid. Because MonkeyPox-infected people can be found easily and also there are 2 efficacious vaccines against MonkeyPox. While the upsurge of Monkeypox attracts headlines, there is little contamination of a major global pandemic — and nothing proportional to that of Covid-19. 

Hundreds of people have been diagnosed with MonkeyPox amid a worldwide outbreak some tweets about the virus are asking whether the Covid-19 vaccine is connected to the outbreak, others are claiming the MonkeyPox rash looks similar to the rash caused by shingles which they say can be a reaction to the Covid-19 vaccine. Monkeypox represents a potential public health issue that requires proper inquisitiveness to preclude its spread.

Can Both Monkeypox And Covid-19 Co-exist Together?

Dr. Sulaiman Ladhani, Consulting Chest Physician, Mumbai said that Covid-19 and monkeypox can unquestionably co-occur and the combination can be deadly. "As far as concurrence of the Covid-19 and monkeypox goes, they are both two different kinds of viral infections. Yes they can absolutely co-occur and it can be really death-dealing," says Dr. Ladhani.

"It can make things more complex, Covid is quite a catastrophic disease.  If both Monkeypox and Covid affect together the symptoms may turn out to be the same as before, and their diagnosis is very salient.

 For Covid, RT-PCR and for MonkeyPox, clinical symptoms, rash in the body, histopathological diagnosis by microscopy is necessary," says Dr. Ladhani.

The expert says the treatment especially could be a difficult task in the case of immunocompetent and old senior patients.

Conclusion

"Monkeypox doesn't spread easily in any way as you require an elongated body contact or to be in touch with the body fluids of an affected person, or animal. Covid on the other hand spreads very nimbly. At present, the cases are not too many, the possibility (of co-existence of two diseases) definitely exists and if they do chances of fatality are very high," concludes Dr. Ladhani.

Written by - Madhumitha R. 

Edited by - Kritika Sharma