Sri Lanka yesterday detected its second case of monkeypox on Wednesday (9). According to the sources of the Health Ministry the second monkeypox infected person is a Sri Lankan who returned from Dubai recently.
The Health Ministry reported the first case of monkeypox in the country on November 4 and he is currently being treated at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Angoda.
Consultant Community Physician Dr. Chinthana Perera yesterday said that the monkeypox disease, which is a contagious disease,
is not a disease that spreads easily like the COVID-19 virus, so there is no need to create fear as it spreads through close contact.
He said this while speaking at the press conference held at the Health Promotion Bureau yesterday (9).
He further said that this disease was first reported among humans in the Congo in 1970, after which this disease spread from time to time in South African countries and in Central African and South African countries this is referred to as an endemic disease.
Fever, blisters on the skin, swelling of lymph nodes, headache and fatigue are the symptoms of this disease, while the symptoms may not show for six to 13 days after ingestion of this germ due to the ovulatory season and this ovulatory season can last up to 21 days.
According to the current data presented by the World Health Organization, this disease is transmitted by skin-to-skin contact, that is, the fluid coming out of the blisters on the skin of a patient’s body can be caused by contact with the fluid, Dr.Perera, a community physician said.
He said that this disease can be spread by skin-to-skin contact with very close contact and it can also be spread by respiratory droplets. The doctor further said that it can be spread by saliva droplets through skin to skin contact as well as face to face contact over a long period of time.
Regarding the spread of this disease in the world, he said that 78,600 cases have been reported worldwide in 2022 and 41 of them have died. It was said that 52,000 cases have been reported in the North and South American region, and 25,000 cases have been reported in Europe.
The doctor further said that this disease has spread in countries like Spain, United States, France, 31 patients have been reported in South Asian countries so far, 17 patients in India, 12 in Thailand, one patient in Indonesia and one case in Sri Lanka.
Currently, the data provided by the World Health Organization shows that the age limits of about 45,000 patients out of 78,600 patients have been determined, and approximately 97 percent of the 45,000 patients are male, and 80% of those males are in the age range of 18 to 44, and 3 percent are females.
Although it is spread by prolonged body contact, our well-being can prevent the spread of this monkey flu, the doctor emphasized.
