Now its Monkeypox...

Another panic?  Probably not.

In recent years there have been flare ups of the monkeypox disease.  Two cases occurred in the US in 2021.   And there is a vaccine, called JYNNEOS, manufactureed by Bavarian Nordic A/S (BVNRY).  (JYNNEOS is also effective against Smallpox.)  JYNNEOS is administered as a live virus that is non-replicating.   This is one regard that differentiates it from the so-called COVID vaccine, which is really only an mRNA immunity booster.

On May 18, 2022, a U.S. resident tested positive for monkeypox after returning to the U.S. from Canada. As of May 18, 2022, the US Center for Disease Control has identified no additional monkeypox cases have been identified in the U.S. [CDC].  

In humans, the symptoms of monkeypox are similar to but milder than the symptoms of smallpox. Monkeypox begins with fever, headache, muscle aches, and exhaustion. The main difference between symptoms of smallpox and monkeypox is that monkeypox causes lymph nodes to swell (lymphadenopathy) while smallpox does not. The incubation period (time from infection to symptoms) for monkeypox is usually 7−14 days but can range from 5−21 days.

The illness begins with:

    Fever
    Headache
    Muscle aches
    Backache
    Swollen lymph nodes
    Chills
    Exhaustion

Within 1 to 3 days (sometimes longer) after the appearance of fever, the patient develops a rash, often beginning on the face then spreading to other parts of the body.

Lesions progress through the following stages before falling off:

    Macules - spots on the skin
    Papules - small, solid, usually conical elevations of the skin
    Vesicles - fluid filled pouch in the skin; blisters.
    Pustules - vesicles filled with pus
    Scabs - hard coverings of dried blood

The illness typically lasts for 2−4 weeks. In Africa, monkeypox has been shown to cause death in as many as 1 in 10 persons who contract the disease.  [CDC]

Monkeypox may be spread from handling bushmeat, an animal bite or scratch, body fluids, contaminated objects, or close contact with an infected person. The virus normally circulates among certain rodents, such as rats [CDC].