Health officials have warned the public not to have excessive anxiety about the viral infection as worries are rampant following the discovery of two instances of monkeypox earlier this week.
At the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, a mother and daughter pair who had just arrived to Sri Lanka from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, tested positive for monkeypox. They were then taken for treatment to the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH).
With this, there are now four confirmed instances of monkeypox in Sri Lanka. Three months after the World Health Organization (WHO) proclaimed the infection a worldwide emergency, the first two cases were discovered in November 2022.
Monkeypox transmission from person to person is extremely rare, thus Dr. Samitha Ginige, acting chief epidemiologist for the Health Ministry, asked the people to not worry excessively about the viral infection.
According to the UN health agency, prolonged direct contact with a monkeypox-infected person, such as face-to-face, skin-to-skin, and mouth-to-mouth contact, as well as droplets from coughing or sneezing, are the two main ways that human-to-human transmission of monkeypox occurs.
An uncommon viral infection known as monkeypox is brought on by a virus from the Poxviridae family.
These viruses can spread from animals to people directly or through other animals. They cling to diseased surfaces for a longer amount of time because they are very resistant in dry environments or at high temperatures.
Monkeypox is not a particularly contagious illness, despite the virus’s resistance, since prolonged physical contact is required for the virus to pass from person to person.
The cheeks, palms of the hands, soles of the feet, eyes, mouth, throat, groin, and vaginal or anal areas of the body might all develop rashes.
The signs and symptoms normally last two to three weeks and disappear on their own or with supportive treatment such pain and fever relief medication.
