Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Monday, Sep 15, 2025

Monkeypox Explained: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment | Hot Mic with Nidhi Razdan

The world is still reeling from Covid and now we have a new health crisis to deal with. Over the weekend, the World Health Organisation, or the WHO, declared Monkeypox a global health emergency.
Hi,

this is Hot Mic and I'm Nidhi Razdan. The world is still reeling from Covid and now we have a new health crisis to deal with. Over the weekend, the World Health Organization or the WHO, declared Monkeypox a global health emergency. They say more than 16,000 cases have been confirmed so far in 75 countries. The last global health emergency was Covid and here we are. There are four known Monkeypox cases in India. Several states have now been deploying strict screening protocols and the center has asked officials to remain on alert. According to the WHO, Monkeypox is a virus transmitted from humans to animals with symptoms very similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients.

Although, it is clinically less severe.Thankfully, fatality rates in this are low. The name ‘Monkeypox' originates from the initial discovery of the virus in monkeys in a Danish laboratory in 1958. The first human case was identified in a child in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970. The Monkeypox virus is transmitted from one person to another by very close contact with lesions, bodily fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding.

The incubation period of Monkeypox is usually from 6 to 13 days, but can range from 5 to 21 days.The WHO goes on to say that uncertainty remains on the natural history of the Monkeypox virus, and further studies are needed to identify the exact reservoirs and how virus circulation is maintained in nature. So what are the symptoms? Now, according to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the main symptoms are a fever headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion, and importantly, a rash that can look like pimples or blisters that appear on the face,inside the mouth and on other parts of the body, like your hands, your feet, your chest, etc.

The rash goes through different stages before it heals completely. The illness typically lasts anywhere from two to four weeks. Sometimes people get a rash first, followed by other symptoms. Others only experience a rash. Now Monkeypox spreads in different ways.It can spread from person to person,as we said, through direct contact with the rash itself, the scabs, the respiratory secretions during prolonged face to face contact or during intimate physical contact like kissing, cuddling or sex. Now, touching items such as clothing or linens that previously touched the infectious rash or body fluids can also infect you. And pregnant women can spread the virus to the fetus also, through the placenta. This is what experts are saying. It's also possible for people to get Monkeypox from infected animals, either by being bitten by them or scratched by them, or by preparing or eating meat or using products from an infected animal. Now, Monkeypox isn't actually considered a sexually transmitted disease, but most people who have gotten it have been gay or bisexual men.

However, as the WHO points out, the risk of Monkeypox is not limited to men who have sex with men. Anyone who has close contact with someone who is infectious is at risk, and stigmatizing people because of a disease is never okay. Anyone can get or pass on Monkeypox regardless of their sexuality.

Speaking to NDTV, the chief scientist at the World Health Organization, Dr Soumya Swaminathan has said, that the outbreak of Monkeypox has been a wake up call and explained that since 1980 or so smallpox vaccination programs have been stopped, indicating that that may have helped the virus to steal a march on the world. The WHO website says that vaccines used during the smallpox eradication program also provide protection against Monkeypox. But newer vaccines have been developed as well, of which one has been approved for the prevention of Monkeypox Dr Swaminathan, however, indicated that using the smallpox vaccine for Monkeypox may be useful, though more laboratory data is required. She said today smallpox vaccines are second and third generation,but there are limited doses and several countries have been stockpiling these vaccines in case that is a smallpox outbreak. There is a Denmark-based company called Bavarian Nordic that has developed a vaccine for Monkeypox, but there isn't any efficacy data on that yet. Dr Soumya Swaminathan also said that Indian pharma companies like the Serum Institute of India can have a big role in bottling, marketing and distributing existing smallpox vaccines, if they were widely available. So what happens next in the fight against Monkeypox? Watch this space.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
×