1 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:11,600 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff Lauren Bogabam here. The outbreak of monkeypox 3 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: in the United States has, as of August four of 4 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:20,480 Speaker 1: this year, been declared a national public health emergency. This 5 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:22,920 Speaker 1: came a little less than two weeks after the World 6 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:26,720 Speaker 1: Health Organization declared it a public Health emergency of International Concern. 7 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:31,240 Speaker 1: But don't panic. There are vaccines to protect against it, 8 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:34,440 Speaker 1: and the fact that it's being called public health emergency 9 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:38,239 Speaker 1: here and internationally means that teams around the world will 10 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 1: be on the alert to help contain it. So today, 11 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:45,000 Speaker 1: let's talk about what monkey pox is and how we 12 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: can prevent its spread. A monkeypox is a viral infection 13 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:52,600 Speaker 1: that first presents with a basic suite of flu like 14 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 1: symptoms fever, chills, and body aches. It may also cause 15 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: fatigue and swollen lymph nodes, but it's most distinct symptom 16 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:03,880 Speaker 1: by far, is a pimple like rash that can cover 17 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:07,000 Speaker 1: the entire body, including the palms of the hands and 18 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: soles of the feet of the person infected. The virus 19 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:13,600 Speaker 1: has an incubation period of about three to seventeen days 20 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 1: from infection until symptoms show, and the illness will then 21 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:22,559 Speaker 1: usually last for two to three weeks. The monkeypox virus 22 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:26,040 Speaker 1: is a member of the orthopox virus family, which also 23 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:30,399 Speaker 1: includes both the smallpox and cowpox viruses. While all of 24 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:35,399 Speaker 1: these viruses are serious, monkeypox is significantly less virulent than smallpox, 25 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 1: despite causing similar symptoms. That means it's way less deadly. 26 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:43,600 Speaker 1: For the article this episode is based on, has to Work, 27 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:47,120 Speaker 1: spoke with Dr Andrea McCollum, an epidemiologist at the US 28 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:51,320 Speaker 1: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. She said 29 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 1: monkeypox has so far about eleven percent mortality in individuals 30 00:01:56,360 --> 00:02:00,800 Speaker 1: who do not have prior smallpox vaccination, but smallpox could 31 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 1: have upward of eighty or nine mortality. A smallpox has 32 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: the distinction of being the first disease to be eradicated 33 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:13,800 Speaker 1: by a modern vaccine. The World Health Organization launched an 34 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:17,720 Speaker 1: intense vaccination program in nineteen sixty seven. The last known 35 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:21,640 Speaker 1: smallpox infection was in Somalia in nineteen seventy seven, and 36 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:28,200 Speaker 1: by the virus was declared functionally eliminated. Known small pox 37 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:32,080 Speaker 1: vaccines are about eighty five percent effective against monkeypox, but 38 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:36,519 Speaker 1: monkeypox hasn't been eradicated, and because the world has done 39 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:40,799 Speaker 1: so well in eradicating smallpox, countries have stopped vaccinating for it, 40 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:43,920 Speaker 1: and that means that fewer people have immunity from monkey 41 00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:47,760 Speaker 1: pox as well. This has led to dozens of monkeypox 42 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:52,520 Speaker 1: outbreaks around the world. Contrary to its name, monkey pox 43 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:55,320 Speaker 1: is not usually spread by monkeys. It was given that 44 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:58,240 Speaker 1: moniker after it was first isolated from a monkey colony 45 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: in nineteen fifty eight. The virus is typically spread by 46 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:05,920 Speaker 1: small rodents such as dormice, rats, and tree and rope squirrels. 47 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 1: The scientists still haven't pinned down which species is the 48 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:12,800 Speaker 1: natural reservoir for the disease, though some kind of rodent 49 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:16,720 Speaker 1: seems likely. The first case in a human was reported 50 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:20,880 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy. Cases usually crop up in heavily forested 51 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:26,079 Speaker 1: rural areas. McCollum said these are populations that are routinely 52 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:29,560 Speaker 1: hunting wild animals or have close contact with wild animals 53 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 1: in the forest. Once one human contracts monkey pocks, they 54 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 1: can pass it to other humans via respiratory droplets or 55 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:41,320 Speaker 1: contact with skin lesions. It's much less contagious than COVID 56 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: nineteen or other respiratory viruses. When spread through the air, 57 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:49,440 Speaker 1: but it can linger on surfaces. Typically, close family members 58 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:52,440 Speaker 1: or caregivers of people with monkeypox are at the highest 59 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:56,440 Speaker 1: risk of becoming infected. Animal to human transmission can also 60 00:03:56,480 --> 00:03:59,600 Speaker 1: occur when someone's bitten or scratched by an infected animal, 61 00:03:59,880 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 1: or if they eat infected meat. In a statement, the 62 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:07,760 Speaker 1: director of the CDC's Division of High Consequence Pathogens and 63 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 1: Pathology said, many of these global reports of monkeypox cases 64 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:16,640 Speaker 1: are occurring within sexual networks. However, healthcare providers should be 65 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:20,039 Speaker 1: alert to any rash that has features typical of monkeypox. 66 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:23,440 Speaker 1: We're asking the public to contact their healthcare provider if 67 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:26,159 Speaker 1: they have a new rash and are concerned about monkeypox. 68 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:30,320 Speaker 1: This isn't the first time that the United States has 69 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:34,440 Speaker 1: seen an outbreak. In two thousand three, monkeypox was accidentally 70 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:37,880 Speaker 1: imported into the US along with several small West African 71 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:41,600 Speaker 1: rodents as part of the pocket pet industry. The mammals 72 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:44,679 Speaker 1: were housed alongside a pack of prairie dogs, also destined 73 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:48,200 Speaker 1: for the pet trade. Prairie dogs and their fleas are 74 00:04:48,279 --> 00:04:52,840 Speaker 1: notorious for transmitting diseases to humans, including bubonic plague. The 75 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:57,200 Speaker 1: little rodents picked up monkeypox virus easily. The infected prairie 76 00:04:57,200 --> 00:04:59,599 Speaker 1: dogs were then sold to a Wisconsin family from a 77 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:03,760 Speaker 1: company in Illinois. In the end, more than forty five 78 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:07,839 Speaker 1: people across six states contracted the virus. The spread prompted 79 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:11,320 Speaker 1: the CDC to bust out a few reserve smallpox vaccines 80 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:13,680 Speaker 1: that the US government had stockpiled in case of a 81 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:18,440 Speaker 1: bioterrorism attack. Unfortunately, there were no fatalities from the two 82 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:21,960 Speaker 1: thousand three outbreak. However, the incident did lead to a 83 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:27,000 Speaker 1: ban on the sale of some West African rodents. There 84 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:30,440 Speaker 1: are currently two vaccines approved in the United States for 85 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:34,280 Speaker 1: preventing monkeypox. A small pox vaccine that was approved by 86 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:37,520 Speaker 1: the US Federal Drug Administration, or FDA in two thousand 87 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:41,880 Speaker 1: seven called a CAM two thousand, and a smallpox plus 88 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 1: monkeypox vaccine that the FDA approved in twenty nineteen called 89 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:50,400 Speaker 1: Genius Again. These smallpox and monkeypox viruses are similar enough 90 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:53,719 Speaker 1: that smallpox vaccines can give people some immunity to both. 91 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:57,440 Speaker 1: They basically teach your immune system what the pox virus 92 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 1: looks like, so that it will target and destroy monkeypox 93 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:03,960 Speaker 1: or smallpox if it enters your body later. This can 94 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:07,160 Speaker 1: prevent infection entirely or bless in the severity of an 95 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:13,200 Speaker 1: infection if it does slip through. The two seven vaccine 96 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:17,039 Speaker 1: a CAM two thousand injects a live virus into the skin, 97 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:20,359 Speaker 1: forming a scab that can spread the virus if you 98 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:23,760 Speaker 1: mess with it. The vaccine has also been associated with 99 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 1: some serious side effects, so it shouldn't be taken by 100 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:31,240 Speaker 1: people who have certain risk factors, including pregnancy, multiple heart risks, 101 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:35,120 Speaker 1: skin conditions like dermatitis or exema, a weakened immune system 102 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:38,080 Speaker 1: or some types of cancer, or who are being treated 103 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:43,000 Speaker 1: with anticancer drugs or immune suppressants. If you're considering getting vaccinated, 104 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:45,280 Speaker 1: talk to your health care professional about any of these 105 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:50,240 Speaker 1: risk factors that you might have. Meanwhile, the twenty nineteen 106 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:53,960 Speaker 1: vaccine Geneos injects a weakened version of a virus into 107 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:57,359 Speaker 1: the skin. It can't replicate, and it's considered safer for 108 00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:01,440 Speaker 1: more people. This vaccine is been in two doses four 109 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:04,720 Speaker 1: weeks apart. As of this recording, the United States has 110 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: administered over three hundred thousand doses of genios and it's 111 00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:11,080 Speaker 1: put in an order for nearly seven million more from 112 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 1: its makers. And so who should get vaccinated on a 113 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:19,720 Speaker 1: national level, if you've had close contact with an infected person, 114 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:22,600 Speaker 1: if your immune system is weakened, or if you have 115 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:27,680 Speaker 1: dermatitis or exema, you're eligible for a GENIOS vaccine. Some 116 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:30,600 Speaker 1: state and local governments have also opened up availability to 117 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:33,360 Speaker 1: people who have had multiple sexual partners in the past 118 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:41,680 Speaker 1: two weeks. Today's episode is based on the article Monkeypops 119 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:44,240 Speaker 1: confirmed in the US and Europe. What you Need to 120 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:47,120 Speaker 1: Know on how stuffworks dot Com, written by Joanna Thompson. 121 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:49,840 Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production to by Heart Radio and partnership 122 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:51,720 Speaker 1: with how stuff works dot Com, and is produced by 123 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:54,960 Speaker 1: Tyler Klang and ramsay out four more podcasts from my 124 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:58,200 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or 125 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:01,560 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite show.