The Kenyan Ministry of Health yesterday announced the first ever case of monkey pox in the country's history. Before launching unnecessary scaremongering, let it be known that the patient is not a Kenyan, but a Ugandan citizen passing through the country, that the monkeys in Kenya are not healthy carriers of this virus, but above all that in the vast majority of cases, the common symptoms of smallpox are a rash or lesions of the mucous membranes that can last 2-4 weeks, accompanied by fever, headache, muscle pain, backache, low energy and enlarged lymph nodes. The chances of it worsening are almost impossible, because the skin rash is so obvious that anyone immediately goes to a doctor or hospital. Clearly, for the very poor or those from remote and deprived areas, it is difficult to reach a health facility or find trained doctors, so if one does not take proper care, smallpox (like any common disease) can worsen and in rare cases become fatal. This is why an outbreak two years ago in Congo resulted in some deaths.

Under certain circumstances, the vaccine for common smallpox can also be effective for monkey pox, commonly called Mpox.

Monkeypox is contracted through contact with infected persons, through physical contact, kissing or sexual intercourse, even simple drops of sweat or saliva emitted by talking or coughing. As the World Health Organisation points out, ‘the virus then enters the body through broken skin, mucous surfaces (e.g. oral, pharyngeal, ocular, genital, anorectal) or through the respiratory tract. Mpox can spread to other family members and sexual partners. People with multiple sexual partners are more at risk. Animal-to-human transmission of Mpox occurs from infected animals to humans through bites or scratches, or during activities such as hunting, skinning, catching, cooking, skinning or eating animals. The extent of viral circulation in animal populations is not fully known and further studies are ongoing. People can contract mpox from contaminated objects such as clothing or linen, through stab wounds in health care or in community settings such as tattoo parlours.

The monkeypox virus was discovered in Denmark (1958) in monkeys bred for research and the first reported human case of smallpox was a nine-month-old baby in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, 1970). Smallpox can spread from person to person or occasionally from animals to people. After the eradication of smallpox in 1980 and the end of smallpox vaccination worldwide, smallpox emerged steadily in Central, East and West Africa. A global epidemic occurred in 2022-2023. The natural reservoir of the virus is unknown: several small mammals such as squirrels and monkeys are susceptible.