Africa-Press – Angola. Angola has not recorded, to date, cases of monkeypox, and the suspected case tested negative for the disease, the country’s health authorities assured this Friday in Luanda. Learn all about the disease that spreads across Europe.
The director of the Health Research Institute, Joana Morais, clarified that in relation to the suspected case, it is a foreign citizen who had flu-like symptoms and who had a history of passing through a high number of monkeypox cases.
“The samples were sent to South Africa on the 20th of May and were quickly discarded”, reassured the official, stressing that the country will receive, in the coming days, the necessary reagents for the diagnosis of the disease.
About Monkey Pox
What Is The Disease And How Is It Transmitted?
It was first discovered in 1958, when two outbreaks of a smallpox-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys used for research – hence the association with monkeys and the name “Monkeypox”.
The first human case was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, during a period of intense efforts to eliminate smallpox.
This virus is transmitted through contact with an infected animal or person or material that is contaminated.
Transmission between humans occurs mainly through large respiratory droplets, requiring prolonged contact, but also through bodily fluids.
Monkeypox is considered a virus of moderate transmissibility between humans.
What Are The Symptoms Of Infection?
Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion, and a rash developing.
The incubation period is typically six to 16 days, but can be as long as 21. When the scab falls off, a person is no longer infectious.
How Serious Is The Disease?
Its clinical manifestation is usually mild, with most infected people recovering within a few weeks, but the ECDC warns that immunocompromised people are especially at risk of serious illness from this virus.
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