As the United Kingdom strives to battle against Covid-19 pandemic, another rare viral infection ‘Monkeypox’ has left health officials scratching their heads.

As of now, two people have contracted Monkeypox in the UK and have been hospitalized for treatment. According to the Public Health Wales (PHW), one of the infected contracted the virus while abroad and the other belongs to the same family.

Both the infected persons had shown symptoms like fever, pains, and a scabby rash. Both Public Health Wales and Public Health England are keeping a check on the health of the hospitalized victims.

According to Richard Firth, PHW’s health protection consultant said, “Confirmed cases if a monkeypox is a rare event in the UK and the risk to the general public is very low. We have worked with multi-agency colleagues, following tried and tested protocols and procedures, and identified all close contact.”

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“Actions have been put in place to mitigate the likelihood of further spread of infection,” Firth added.

What is monkeypox?

In 39 years, the first case of this rare viral infection was reported in 2017 in Nigeria. Since then there have been dispersive cases of infection in Nigeria.

Monkeypox is zoonotic and belongs to the same family as smallpox and is not as infectious as smallpox.

Primarily, monkeypox is communicated to humans from wild animals including rats and monkeys. However, it can also be transmitted from person to person. According to the reports, it is plausible that nearly a tenth of the population infected with Monkeypox will die.

What are the symptoms of monkeypox?

After the 12 days of catching the virus, one can experience, fever, headache, muscle aches, and tiredness. Infected with a rare viral infection, one may start feeling feverish after the 3 days of the contact followed by extreme itching and rashes all over the body. Severe itching can lead to certain changes on the skin which include healing, forming a scab, and then falls off. Also, there are chances that these scabs can leave scars on the infected areas.

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One can experience all these symptoms and illness for 2 to 4 weeks which gradually lowers down on its own.