With parts of US now declaring a state of emergency over rise in Monkeypox cases, the world is on the edge as it arms itself to fight the Monkeypox threat. Even as US is seeing a rapid spike in cases, global health agencies have now updated the list of Monkeypox symptoms noting that there is a significant change in the way symptoms show today than in the earlier outbreaks of the disease.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recently updated both the definition and the list of symptoms for Monkeypox in light of clinical experiences during the current outbreak. According to UKHSA, “The symptom list has been expanded to include a single lesion or lesions on the genitals, anus and surrounding area, lesions in the mouth, and symptoms of proctitis (anal or rectal pain or bleeding), especially if the individual has had a new sexual partner recently.”
The UK health agency also said that majority of those infected with Monkeypox can safely monitor their symptoms at home and that in most cases in this current outbreak, people experience mild symptoms, but also warned that the disease can cause significant illness in some who would even require hospitalisation, including for severe pain.

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With US reporting nearly 5,000 cases country-wide, the Centre for disease control or CDC said that historically, patients with Monkeypox in the past reported flu-like symptoms such as fever, body aches and swollen glands coupled with “a characteristic, often diffuse rash that appears in multiple parts of the body, mostly on the face, arms and hands.” But according to the CDC, the symptoms in the recent cases show “some patients developing a rash, often around the genitals or anus, even before experiencing any flu-like symptoms, and that some have not even developed flu-like symptoms at all.”

According to the WHO, Human monkeypox was first identified in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The type of monkeypox currently affecting those in countries outside Africa is known as the West African clade. The World Health Organization estimates that around 1 percent of people who’ve contracted this strain have died in the past, compared to up to 10 percent of people who contract the Congo Basin strain.

READ MORE: White House Says Monkeypox Outbreak ‘Can be Contained’

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