Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, Hey brain Stuff Lauren Bogabam here. The outbreak of monkeypox in the United States has, as of August four of this year, been declared a national public health emergency. This came a little less than two weeks after the World Health Organization declared it a public Health emergency of International Concern.
But don't panic. There are vaccines to protect against it, and the fact that it's being called public health emergency here and internationally means that teams around the world will be on the alert to help contain it. So today, let's talk about what monkey pox is and how we can prevent its spread. A monkeypox is a viral infection that first presents with a basic suite of flu like
symptoms fever, chills, and body aches. It may also cause fatigue and swollen lymph nodes, but it's most distinct symptom by far, is a pimple like rash that can cover the entire body, including the palms of the hands and soles of the feet of the person infected. The virus has an incubation period of about three to seventeen days from infection until symptoms show, and the illness will then
usually last for two to three weeks. The monkeypox virus is a member of the orthopox virus family, which also includes both the smallpox and cowpox viruses. While all of these viruses are serious, monkeypox is significantly less virulent than smallpox, despite causing similar symptoms. That means it's way less deadly. For the article this episode is based on, has to Work, spoke with Dr Andrea McCollum, an epidemiologist at the US
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. She said monkeypox has so far about eleven percent mortality in individuals who do not have prior smallpox vaccination, but smallpox could have upward of eighty or nine mortality. A smallpox has the distinction of being the first disease to be eradicated by a modern vaccine. The World Health Organization launched an
intense vaccination program in nineteen sixty seven. The last known smallpox infection was in Somalia in nineteen seventy seven, and by the virus was declared functionally eliminated. Known small pox vaccines are about eighty five percent effective against monkeypox, but monkeypox hasn't been eradicated, and because the world has done so well in eradicating smallpox, countries have stopped vaccinating for it, and that means that fewer people have immunity from monkey
pox as well. This has led to dozens of monkeypox outbreaks around the world. Contrary to its name, monkey pox is not usually spread by monkeys. It was given that moniker after it was first isolated from a monkey colony in nineteen fifty eight. The virus is typically spread by small rodents such as dormice, rats, and tree and rope squirrels. The scientists still haven't pinned down which species is the natural reservoir for the disease, though some kind of rodent
seems likely. The first case in a human was reported in nineteen seventy. Cases usually crop up in heavily forested rural areas. McCollum said these are populations that are routinely hunting wild animals or have close contact with wild animals in the forest. Once one human contracts monkey pocks, they can pass it to other humans via respiratory droplets or contact with skin lesions. It's much less contagious than COVID nineteen or other respiratory viruses. When spread through the air,
but it can linger on surfaces. Typically, close family members or caregivers of people with monkeypox are at the highest risk of becoming infected. Animal to human transmission can also occur when someone's bitten or scratched by an infected animal, or if they eat infected meat. In a statement, the director of the CDC's Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology said, many of these global reports of monkeypox cases
are occurring within sexual networks. However, healthcare providers should be alert to any rash that has features typical of monkeypox. We're asking the public to contact their healthcare provider if they have a new rash and are concerned about monkeypox. This isn't the first time that the United States has seen an outbreak. In two thousand three, monkeypox was accidentally imported into the US along with several small West African
rodents as part of the pocket pet industry. The mammals were housed alongside a pack of prairie dogs, also destined for the pet trade. Prairie dogs and their fleas are notorious for transmitting diseases to humans, including bubonic plague. The little rodents picked up monkeypox virus easily. The infected prairie dogs were then sold to a Wisconsin family from a company in Illinois. In the end, more than forty five
people across six states contracted the virus. The spread prompted the CDC to bust out a few reserve smallpox vaccines that the US government had stockpiled in case of a bioterrorism attack. Unfortunately, there were no fatalities from the two thousand three outbreak. However, the incident did lead to a ban on the sale of some West African rodents. There are currently two vaccines approved in the United States for
preventing monkeypox. A small pox vaccine that was approved by the US Federal Drug Administration, or FDA in two thousand seven called a CAM two thousand, and a smallpox plus monkeypox vaccine that the FDA approved in twenty nineteen called Genius Again. These smallpox and monkeypox viruses are similar enough that smallpox vaccines can give people some immunity to both. They basically teach your immune system what the pox virus looks like, so that it will target and destroy monkeypox
or smallpox if it enters your body later. This can prevent infection entirely or bless in the severity of an infection if it does slip through. The two seven vaccine a CAM two thousand injects a live virus into the skin, forming a scab that can spread the virus if you
mess with it. The vaccine has also been associated with some serious side effects, so it shouldn't be taken by people who have certain risk factors, including pregnancy, multiple heart risks, skin conditions like dermatitis or exema, a weakened immune system or some types of cancer, or who are being treated with anticancer drugs or immune suppressants. If you're considering getting vaccinated, talk to your health care professional about any of these
risk factors that you might have. Meanwhile, the twenty nineteen vaccine Geneos injects a weakened version of a virus into the skin. It can't replicate, and it's considered safer for more people. This vaccine is been in two doses four weeks apart. As of this recording, the United States has administered over three hundred thousand doses of genios and it's put in an order for nearly seven million more from
its makers. And so who should get vaccinated on a national level, if you've had close contact with an infected person, if your immune system is weakened, or if you have dermatitis or exema, you're eligible for a GENIOS vaccine. Some state and local governments have also opened up availability to people who have had multiple sexual partners in the past two weeks. Today's episode is based on the article Monkeypops
confirmed in the US and Europe. What you Need to Know on how stuffworks dot Com, written by Joanna Thompson. Brain Stuff is production to by Heart Radio and partnership with how stuff works dot Com, and is produced by Tyler Klang and ramsay out four more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite show.