- People are getting confused between monkeypox and chicken pox symptoms.
- More than 100 cases of MONKEYPOX have been reported in the past month worldwide, including in the US.
- Monkeypox and chicken pox both are from the pox virus family.
Soon after the first case of monkeypox was confirmed in the US, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Inger Damon has said that “Healthcare providers should be alert to any rash that has features typical of monkeypox. We’re asking the public to contact their healthcare provider if they have a new rash and are concerned about monkeypox.”
Health officials from around the world have requested people to be very careful with monkeypox rashes. According to the World Health Organization, more than 100 cases have been confirmed in the past month and an additional 131 cases are suspected.
The only issue that people are facing is an identification of the symptoms of MONKEYPOX rash as it is not much different from that of chicken pox and smallpox. Although they are caused by different types of viruses, the symptoms of monkeypox are similar to those of chickenpox. It is very difficult to tell the difference without performing the clinical test.
Monkeypox is usually milder than smallpox. Its symptoms become better on their own within two to four weeks. Monkeypox is less contagious and less deadly than smallpox, says WHO.
Local media from Greece reported that on Monday the first case of monkeypox was recorded which was at first thought to be a case of chickenpox and was even tested positive for it. This is because of the common symptom that monkeypox and smallpox both cause pus-filled boils.
CDC has made this statement “The main difference between the symptoms of smallpox and monkeypox is swollen lymph nodes or “lymphadenopathy” — monkeypox causes lymph nodes to swell while smallpox does not, “
