Amid the hospitalization of ten people in two regions of Russia who may have come into contact with suspected monkeypox carriers, officials from Kazakhstan's Ministry of Health and experienced infectious disease specialists have commented on the likelihood of the infection being imported into the country, the website infohub.kz reports.
According to the KTK television channel, Russia has once again found itself in the spotlight over a possible outbreak of a dangerous disease. Rospotrebnadzor said specialists had organized a full set of anti-epidemic measures, and an order had been issued to carry out disinfection.
Doctors warn that the particularly dangerous infection may initially resemble other, less serious illnesses. Monkeypox is transmitted from animals to humans, as well as between people.
"The first symptoms may appear 21 days after contact with an infected person begins. The first symptoms may be like those of any cold-related illness, that is: fever, headache, muscle pain. That is, it resembles the flu," said Lyazzat Yeraliyeva, Doctor of Medical Sciences.
According to doctors, the lymph nodes then enlarge and a characteristic rash appears on the face, palms and soles. It is precisely this that is the main sign of the dangerous disease. Over time, the red spots turn into vesicles, or, in other words, single-chamber blisters.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health of our country does not rule out the import of monkeypox into Kazakhstan.
"Due to the registration of cases of the disease in certain countries of the world, and given active transport links, the possibility of the infection being imported into the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan is not excluded. At the same time, the risk of its widespread transmission among the population of Kazakhstan is assessed as low, given the characteristics of how the pathogen is transmitted," commented Aizhan Zhukenova, chief expert at the Department for Control of Particularly Dangerous Infections of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The mortality rate from the particularly dangerous infection reaches 10%. At the same time, there is no specific treatment — doctors only fight the symptoms of the disease.
"If previously people were mainly infected by monkeys, through contact with monkeys or monkey meat, now the infection is mainly transmitted from person to person. Of course, the route is contact, but it also includes, and mainly is, sexual contact among homosexual men," commented Andrey Dmitrovsky, professor of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Kazakhstan-Russian Medical University.
At the same time, no cases of monkeypox infection have yet been detected in Kazakhstan. However, the country's Ministry of Health is closely monitoring the situation in the world and, if necessary, is ready to fight off the infection.
It was previously reported that Russia had begun an epidemiological investigation due to possible cases of monkeypox — five people were hospitalized. The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan did not rule out the possibility of monkeypox being imported into Kazakhstan, and controls at checkpoints were tightened.
According to the ministry, monkeypox is a viral disease caused by the MPXV virus. The infection is transmitted mainly through close physical contact with an infected person, including contact with skin rashes and biological fluids. Infection is also possible through contaminated clothing, bedding and other items, as well as through contact with infected animals. Characteristic symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain, swollen lymph nodes and a skin rash.