What The Heck is Monkeypox and Is It Another Thing We've Gotta Worry About?

This can't be fur real.

As if we don’t have enough to think about at the moment with a whole new Prime Minister and the pandemic still running rampant, now there’s monkeypox.

There are only two cases in Australia right now and experts say it’s actually not something to stress about too much, but let’s unpack it shall we?

If monkey pox becomes a pandemic I’m never ever leaving my house

— Audrey (@audreythefinest) May 19, 2022

Wait, what is monkeypox?

Just to keep us on our toes, monkeypox isn’t even usually carried by monkeys.

It was first found in monkeys in 1958, but now rats and rodents are considered the main carrier and they can pass it onto humans via some kind of 'interaction'.

Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pains, swollen lymph nodes, and exhaustion—which all sounds a lot like COVID—but it also comes with fluid or pus-filled lesions and a rash on the skin, similar to chickenpox.

The good news (if you can believe this actually does come with good news) is that the disease is not super spreadable, like our old mate ‘rona.

Victorian Chief Health Officer, Brett Sutton, said monkeypox was “rare” and the risk of transmission was “not great”.

"The transmission of the virus can be through the fluids, the material within lesions in those pox," he said.

"There can also be respiratory transmission for people who are in close contact with each another... or close skin-to-skin contact."

How did we get it in Australia?

According to the ABC, both Aussie cases are from recently returned travellers.

The first is a man in his 40s in Sydney who recently returned from Europe and is now isolating at home with a close contact.

The other is a man in his 30s who returned home to Melbourne from London last week, and remains in isolation in hospital with mild symptoms.

Victoria has recorded its first case of monkeypox in a returned overseas traveler who had visited the UK where there is a small outbreak of the virus. He remains in isolation with mild symptoms.
For symptoms and to find out more visit: https://t.co/UL65RdsOnn pic.twitter.com/6idDNwNwAL

— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) May 20, 2022

They’ve likely got it from their travels with dozens of cases having been confirmed around the world in recent weeks.

Europe has experienced its largest outbreak of monkeypox to date, and there have been cases in the US and Canada as well.

According to The Guardian, it’s raised alarms because the disease is usually only found in west and central Africa, and rarely spreads elsewhere.

So, should we be worried?

As we mentioned before, the virus isn't transmitted easily between humans so it doesn't really present the need to panic. It also has a very low fatality rate of between 1 and 5 per cent.

So, yes, it’s out there, but it’s very unlikely you’ll pick it up on your weekly grocery trip. Which means no need to get in a tizz! 

Header Image: Unsplash.