KUWAIT CITY, Aug 10: In parallel with the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring a state of emergency to address the outbreak of a new strain of monkeypox due to a recent surge in infections, Dr. Ghanem Al-Hujailan, a consultant in internal and epidemiological diseases at Adan Hospital, affirmed that Kuwait is distant from the outbreak’s hotspots and that the pandemic does not pose a significant threat to the country.

In a press statement, Dr. Al-Hujailan explained that Kuwait is not an international transit hub and lacks significant tourism from African countries, which makes it less likely for the disease to enter the country through travelers from those countries. Monkeypox is a viral disease of animal origin. It can be transmitted to humans through direct contact with the blood, bodily fluids, or skin lesions of infected animals. It can also spread from person to person through close contact with respiratory secretions or skin lesions of an infected individual. There are two distinct types of monkeypox virus - the Congo Basin virus, which is more contagious, and the West African virus.

Meanwhile, Director of the Health Promotion Department Dr. Abeer Al-Baho said the vaccines used in the smallpox eradication program offer up to 85 percent protection against monkeypox. She explained that the monkeypox virus has been found in various animals in Africa, including mountain squirrels, tree squirrels, Gambian marsupial rats, dormice, and different types of monkeys. Consuming undercooked meat and other animal products from infected animals is also a risk factor.

In Africa, monkeypox infections have been linked to consuming meat of infected monkeys, rats, or squirrels. The rash associated with monkeypox resembles those from various infectious diseases, such as varicella zoster virus, herpes simplex virus, and syphilis, with symptoms including fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes. The disease predominantly affects young people, with studies from two years ago showing that 98.2 percent of global cases involve young individuals, and 95.2 percent of reported cases are among homosexual and bisexual individuals. The incubation period for monkeypox, i.e., the time period between infection and the appearance of symptoms, ranges from five to 21 days. In the initial five days, symptoms appear in the form of fever, severe headache, back and muscle pain, and extreme weakness, with enlarged lymph nodes being a distinctive feature of monkeypox.

By Marwa Al-Bahrawi
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff