The Pasteur Institute of Algeria published this Sunday an explanatory note on monkeypox, whose cases have been discovered throughout the world, raising fears of a new global pandemic.
US President Joe Biden warned this Sunday against a “consequent” impact of a possible spread of this disease in the world that is still fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
| Also read: Monkeypox: the complete note from the Pasteur Institute of Algeria
In Algeria, the health authorities have not reported discoveries of monkeypox cases. No particular device has been deployed at the borders against this virus. But health authorities are on alert. This Sunday, the Pasteur Institute of Algeria published an explanatory note on monkeypox.
The Pasteur Institute in Algeria recalls that monkeypox was “discovered in 1958, when two epidemics of a smallpox-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys bred for research, hence the name “monkeypox”. »
It adds that the first human case of this disease was “registered in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), during a period of intensification of efforts to eliminate smallpox.”
“Since then, ‘monkeypox’ has been reported in people from several other West and Central African countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone”. , adds the Pasteur Institute of Algeria. As of 2022, several cases of monkeypox have been discovered in England, Portugal, Spain, France, Sweden, the United States, Australia, and Canada, as well as other countries.
Transmission
In its note, the Pasteur Institute of Algeria explains that the transmission of this virus is “probably due to the global decrease in immunity to viruses of the orthopoxvirus genus (responsible for smallpox), after the cessation of vaccination against smallpox in the 1980s.”
“Monkeypox could therefore become the most important orthopoxvirus infection in humans,” warns the Pasteur Institute in Algeria, stressing that “model data show that while a population whose herd immunity declines against orthopoxvirus species , the epidemic potential of monkeypox will continue to increase »
The Pasteur Institute of Algeria further explains that the transmission of monkeypox “occurs when a person comes into contact with the virus from an animal, a human being or materials contaminated with the virus. »
It indicates that the virus “enters the body through an injury to the skin (even non-visible), the respiratory tract or the mucous membranes (eyes, nose or mouth). »
Transmission of monkeypox from animal to human can occur by “bite” or “scratch”, by “bushmeat preparation”, by “direct contact with bodily fluids” or “equipment”. injury” or by “indirect contact with contaminated material, for example through contaminated bedding. »
“Person-to-person transmission is thought to occur primarily through large respiratory droplets. Respiratory droplets are generally unable to travel more than a few meters, requiring prolonged face-to-face contact,” says the Algerian Pasteur Institute.
According to the same source, the other modes of transmission of this virus from person to person include “direct contact with body fluids” and “indirect contact with dirty equipment, for example, through contaminated clothing or bedding.” »
“The reservoir host (main vector of the disease) of monkeypox is still unknown, but African rodents are suspected to play a role in transmission,” further details the Pasteur Institute of Algeria.
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