While we are still in the grip of Sars Cov-2, even if the cases of contagion are increasingly on the decline, another virus worries the population: monkeypox. But how much is known about this virus? Professor Sergio Lo Caputo of the ‘Riuniti’ of Foggia, explains to the microphones of FoggiaToday, what there is to know about this new virus.
“Both the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the European Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have identified, based on the 1300 cases diagnosed in the world, the subjects most at risk. The outbreak initially broke out with people having sex with men coming mainly from the Canary Islands and then spread to Portugal, Spain and Great Britain. This disease is contracted with very close relationships, because what are infectious are the pustules created by smallpox and droplet, ie the droplets dispersed into the environment during the breath. But the degree of infectivity is significantly lower than Covid. The forms observed are very mild and moderate, so mortality is to be excluded. Care must be taken when lesions appear that have no reason to exist and if there have been close contacts with unknown people. We cannot speak of sexually transmitted disease but, as we have very close contacts ti ‘, these almost always occur through sexual intercourse. The symptoms are: fever, joint pain, chills and the incubation period can be up to 21 days and the symptoms vary from one to two weeks “ – explains Lo Caputo.
But in terms of danger, the Professor reassures the population: “If we weren’t all frightened by all infectious diseases, we wouldn’t even talk about it except in the technical field. The population can be absolutely calm”.