OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - As images of the ugly rash emerge, local health experts told KFOR on Wednesday that there was no need for a pandemic panic yet.
“I think the risk is very low in Oklahoma right now.
In a public session on Monday, a top WHO expert on monkeypox confirmed that the disease is not spreading at the level of a pandemic, but pointed out a number of unknowns about the disease, including how exactly it is spreading and whether the suspension of mass immunization is against smallpox a few decades ago may have somehow accelerated its transmission.
“One thing that is important to understand is that this is not exactly like a coronavirus,” said David L. Holden, MD
“Coronavirus is really transmitted by air,” added the doctor, who is currently the president of the Oklahoma Medical Association.
“We had no idea who had it and who didn’t. Maybe it’s spreading, he thinks they have a cold or something. While goddesses are monkeys, the symptoms are much more dramatic. And of course, the rash is a telltale sign, but they remain symptomatic and are transmitted for up to three weeks. So, I think we in Oklahoma need to be safe and recognize that this is a problem.
“Historically, monkey goddesses are just one variation of what we call orthopox viruses,” Holden said, adding that this is not the first time monkey goddesses have been hatched, but he identifies its similarities with broader orthopox viruses.
“It came out earlier,” he said, referring to the disease.
“The difference is that this seems to have been a much wider explosion of cases in several countries,” he continued. “In the past, I studied smallpox that can be transmitted by air in the sense that if you shake out a blanket worn by someone who is infected, the particles from that blanket are contaminated. And if you inhale it or come in contact with them, it is theoretically transmitted in the air in that sense, “he continued.
Scientists from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said they are tracking cases of monkeypox reported in countries around the world that have not usually seen cases of the disease, according to a recently published travel notice.
“There have been only a few cases here in the United States. And a very difficult investigation of these cases showed that many of them were exposed abroad or traveled or had contact with someone who had one of these risk factors, “said Jolien Stone, MPH, and a state epidemiologist in the state of Oklahoma. Ministry of Health.
KFOR has previously reported a number of monkeypox cases at 18, according to the CDC. However, since that update, the latest data provided by the health organization shows that the total number of confirmed cases of monkeypox / orthopox virus is 19.
Health experts say that although the risk to public health is relatively low, Oklahoma residents should still be careful, especially if they have traveled outside the state.
“We just have to be careful and we have to recognize, you know, our society is a bit fragile because of the way we exist now, the way we travel, the way we communicate in mass crowds,” Dr Holden said. “If you don’t travel [and] the case occurs in Oklahoma somewhere in the state, you know it needs to be followed closely.
“Public health can move in there and isolate those people,” he added.
Jolien Stone said that from the perspective of the state, there is a plan for solving public health problems, if cases are identified in Oklahoma.
“We have a plan to test that person and make sure to protect those contacts around them and individuals in the community,” she said. “If you have had close physical contact with someone who may have had a rash or been exposed to monkeypox and think you may be in danger, be sure to see your doctor and we could work with them on testing.