Download EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES Emerging Infectious Diseases

EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Emerging Infectious Diseases
Name
Course
Date
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Emerging infectious diseases are the diseases that cause death in human. Monkey pox is one of
the emerging diseases in the United States. The disease is caused by the rodents i.e. the rabbits, rats,
squirrels. Research has proved that the disease may also be seen in mammals like the dogs and cats. There
are also the re-emerging infectious diseases that were there more than 20 years ago but now they have
reemerged.
Intense research carried out in the last 10 years show that these rates of the emerging infectious
disease have emerged. The new diseases are said to be caused by the change of way of living of the
human who nowadays keep pets and most of these pets are carriers of some diseases. Like we see in
U.S.A. there is the monkey pox which has been an outbreak in the States. This was as a result of having
some rodents as pets. These rodents have pathogens that will move from them to the human hence spread
of the disease.
Monkey pox is characterized by blister-like rash on the skins. This is caused by monkey pox virus
and is said to be carried by the rodents. There are rats that were imported from Gambia to the United
States and they are the main origin of this disease. The disease was first discovered in a laboratory of
monkeys. Despite it having been linked to the primate, it does not affect the primates as it does to the
rodents. The disease was transmitted from the rodents to the human in 2003. The disease is an origin of
central Africa as well as West Africa. Investigators conclude that the disease started in Texas where a
person had prairie dogs s pets. The dog transmitted the virus.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
These dogs were carrying the virus hence it was spread to the rest of the human. The disease is
confused with smallpox. It is closely related to the smallpox disease. The disease can also be confused for
chicken pox but there is no relation between the two. This disease is also found in squirrels (heliosciurus
and funisciurus) and pouched rats (cricetomys gambianus).
Monkey pox is an emerging disease that is viral in nature. It first infected the Africans but now it is in the
United States where it is affecting the people who have pets. It causes rash to the infected individual.
Symptoms and causes of the monkey pox
This disease is caused by an orthopoxvirus specifically monkey pox virus. The disease is caused
when human are in close range with the rodents or other warm blooded animals that carry her disease.
You can know if you at risk if you have stayed near an animal that is from the areas that breed the
carriers. That is Africa. (West and Central Africa) Handling bedding of the infected animal can also cause
the illness, bites from the infected animal, being in contact with the fluids of the infected animal. For
example blood, saliva or mucus.
The symptoms are loss of appetite, where you do not feel like taking anything whether water or
food. This disease may lead to having a cough or any other respiratory illness, having watery eye s and
nose, rashes in your body. When you experience these symptoms then there is probability that you are
suffering from the monkey pox. The disease also causes backaches and headaches, sweating and chills
shortness of breath, sore throat and coughing, lymphadenophathy there is no proven treatment for monkey
pox hence monkey pox will lead to death.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
The disease does not have a cure hence most likely if vaccine is not administered it can lead to
death. Sometimes when the vaccine is administered it may lead to seizures to some patients. The monkey
pox leads to the inflammation of the lung tissue. The inflammation of lungs may lead to pneumonia and
this pneumonia will later lead to death.
The monkey pox disease has reduced sore and since the administration of smallpox vaccine.
There has been a change in the spread of the epidemic where the spread has reduced. The smallpox
vaccine that was being administered however it’s no longer available since the disease (smallpox) was
eradicated. When the vaccine is not administered then the victim is likely to die.
The agent of transmission of the monkey pox is a virus. The virus belongs to the poxviridae
family and the genus of orthopoxvirus when an individual coughs and the person is said to have the
monkey pox then the person can transmit it to another individual. If there are direct face to face contact
with an infected animal then the person will most likely gets the illness.
The lifecycle of the monkey is that when there is infection then there is the incubation period of
10 days to two weeks. After the incubation period then there is the prodrome that takes about two days.
During the prodromal period this is before the person gets a rash, the person may start having chills, sore
throats, headaches and swollen lymph. After the prodrome period then the person will have rashes and
lesions and this person ids now said to be highly contagious.
The lesions spread throughout the body and within a month they graduate to the crusting phase
which comes after the macules, papules, vesicles and pustules.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Later some lesions will form dyspigmented scars. The monkey pox will later lead to soft tissue infections,
pneumonitis, encephalitis and ocular complications.
The agent is transmitted when an individual has direct contact with the infected rodent. There is
infection if the infected person coughs near a person who doesn’t have the disease. This may lead to the
disease. Transmission may also occur if there is direct contact of the bedding of the pets that carry the
disease causing pathogens.
Diagnosis is done when samples of present virus are tested. The DNA of the samples is tested and
diagnosis is made. A cell culture is done and the diagnosis is made. If there is presence of the monkey pox
virus then it shows that the extra-cellular envelop virus is seen.
The diagnosis is made in the following ways: enzyme-linked immunosorbent essay, antigen
detection tests, polymerase chain reaction, and virus isolation by cell culture.
There is no treatment for monkey pox. There is still no vaccine for the disease. The patients can
be vaccinated using the smallpox vaccine which seems to work quite well with the monkey pox virus. The
smallpox vaccine is administered to people who are carrying research on the monkey pox as it is said that
it is effective. The person infected with the disease can be given the smallpox vaccine after 14 days of
infection.
The therapy that is used mostly is inhibiting the viral DNA cidofovir will show antiviral activity
which is against viruses but it has not been used for orthopoxvirus in humans. The eradication of monkey
pox virus is not feasible.
This is because of the animal reservoir. The prevention of the monkey pox is by observing certain
procedures which include: hands hygiene after getting into contact with the infected patient, using gloves
when handling a patient, having your eyes protected that is incase the fluid from the infected body
splashes on you,. You should have goggles covering your eyes. Contain the infected equipment that was
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
used to take care of the patient. Be careful when handling the bedding of the patient. To avoid getting into
contact with the lesion exudates, ensure that the equipment used to handle the patient are clean. There
should be disinfecting of the areas where the patient is and its surroundings.
The symptoms may be treated according to their occurrences. Like the headache and backache
can be treated by use of pain killers.
Prevention can also include banning of animals like squirrels, monkeys and other carrier animals from
moving from Africa to neighboring countries or continents. Infected animals should be isolated.
The USA has put the monkey pox virus in the forum of the emerging infectious diseases because since
2003 the disease has been occurring in the United States and is said to be caused by a virus that is carried
by the rodents.
The monkey pox virus is an emerging pathogen that will bring a lot of infections. Studies show
that monkey pox will bring more infections than was earlier believed. The monkey pox virus is concluded
to cause fatal diseases to human.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
References
Breman JG, Henderson DA. (1999) Poxvirus dilemmas--monkeypox, smallpox. N Engl J Med.
Hutin YJ. (1996-1997) Outbreak of human monkeypox, democratic republic of congo Mason, OH:
Jezek Z, Fenner F. (1988); Human monkeypox. Monographs Virol. Bingley, U.K.: Emerald.
Shchelkunov SN (2002). Analysis of the monkeypox virus genome Virology OH: South-Western.