WEBVTT - How Does Monkeypox Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff Lauren Bogabam here. The outbreak of monkeypox

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<v Speaker 1>in the United States has, as of August four of

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<v Speaker 1>this year, been declared a national public health emergency. This

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<v Speaker 1>came a little less than two weeks after the World

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<v Speaker 1>Health Organization declared it a public Health emergency of International Concern.

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<v Speaker 1>But don't panic. There are vaccines to protect against it,

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<v Speaker 1>and the fact that it's being called public health emergency

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<v Speaker 1>here and internationally means that teams around the world will

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<v Speaker 1>be on the alert to help contain it. So today,

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<v Speaker 1>let's talk about what monkey pox is and how we

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<v Speaker 1>can prevent its spread. A monkeypox is a viral infection

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<v Speaker 1>that first presents with a basic suite of flu like

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<v Speaker 1>symptoms fever, chills, and body aches. It may also cause

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<v Speaker 1>fatigue and swollen lymph nodes, but it's most distinct symptom

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<v Speaker 1>by far, is a pimple like rash that can cover

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<v Speaker 1>the entire body, including the palms of the hands and

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<v Speaker 1>soles of the feet of the person infected. The virus

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<v Speaker 1>has an incubation period of about three to seventeen days

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<v Speaker 1>from infection until symptoms show, and the illness will then

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<v Speaker 1>usually last for two to three weeks. The monkeypox virus

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<v Speaker 1>is a member of the orthopox virus family, which also

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<v Speaker 1>includes both the smallpox and cowpox viruses. While all of

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<v Speaker 1>these viruses are serious, monkeypox is significantly less virulent than smallpox,

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<v Speaker 1>despite causing similar symptoms. That means it's way less deadly.

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<v Speaker 1>For the article this episode is based on, has to Work,

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<v Speaker 1>spoke with Dr Andrea McCollum, an epidemiologist at the US

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<v Speaker 1>Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. She said

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<v Speaker 1>monkeypox has so far about eleven percent mortality in individuals

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<v Speaker 1>who do not have prior smallpox vaccination, but smallpox could

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<v Speaker 1>have upward of eighty or nine mortality. A smallpox has

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<v Speaker 1>the distinction of being the first disease to be eradicated

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<v Speaker 1>by a modern vaccine. The World Health Organization launched an

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<v Speaker 1>intense vaccination program in nineteen sixty seven. The last known

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<v Speaker 1>smallpox infection was in Somalia in nineteen seventy seven, and

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<v Speaker 1>by the virus was declared functionally eliminated. Known small pox

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<v Speaker 1>vaccines are about eighty five percent effective against monkeypox, but

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<v Speaker 1>monkeypox hasn't been eradicated, and because the world has done

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<v Speaker 1>so well in eradicating smallpox, countries have stopped vaccinating for it,

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<v Speaker 1>and that means that fewer people have immunity from monkey

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<v Speaker 1>pox as well. This has led to dozens of monkeypox

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<v Speaker 1>outbreaks around the world. Contrary to its name, monkey pox

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<v Speaker 1>is not usually spread by monkeys. It was given that

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<v Speaker 1>moniker after it was first isolated from a monkey colony

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<v Speaker 1>in nineteen fifty eight. The virus is typically spread by

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<v Speaker 1>small rodents such as dormice, rats, and tree and rope squirrels.

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<v Speaker 1>The scientists still haven't pinned down which species is the

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<v Speaker 1>natural reservoir for the disease, though some kind of rodent

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<v Speaker 1>seems likely. The first case in a human was reported

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<v Speaker 1>in nineteen seventy. Cases usually crop up in heavily forested

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<v Speaker 1>rural areas. McCollum said these are populations that are routinely

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<v Speaker 1>hunting wild animals or have close contact with wild animals

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<v Speaker 1>in the forest. Once one human contracts monkey pocks, they

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<v Speaker 1>can pass it to other humans via respiratory droplets or

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<v Speaker 1>contact with skin lesions. It's much less contagious than COVID

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen or other respiratory viruses. When spread through the air,

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<v Speaker 1>but it can linger on surfaces. Typically, close family members

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<v Speaker 1>or caregivers of people with monkeypox are at the highest

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<v Speaker 1>risk of becoming infected. Animal to human transmission can also

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<v Speaker 1>occur when someone's bitten or scratched by an infected animal,

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<v Speaker 1>or if they eat infected meat. In a statement, the

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<v Speaker 1>director of the CDC's Division of High Consequence Pathogens and

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<v Speaker 1>Pathology said, many of these global reports of monkeypox cases

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<v Speaker 1>are occurring within sexual networks. However, healthcare providers should be

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<v Speaker 1>alert to any rash that has features typical of monkeypox.

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<v Speaker 1>We're asking the public to contact their healthcare provider if

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<v Speaker 1>they have a new rash and are concerned about monkeypox.

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<v Speaker 1>This isn't the first time that the United States has

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<v Speaker 1>seen an outbreak. In two thousand three, monkeypox was accidentally

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<v Speaker 1>imported into the US along with several small West African

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<v Speaker 1>rodents as part of the pocket pet industry. The mammals

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<v Speaker 1>were housed alongside a pack of prairie dogs, also destined

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<v Speaker 1>for the pet trade. Prairie dogs and their fleas are

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<v Speaker 1>notorious for transmitting diseases to humans, including bubonic plague. The

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<v Speaker 1>little rodents picked up monkeypox virus easily. The infected prairie

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<v Speaker 1>dogs were then sold to a Wisconsin family from a

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<v Speaker 1>company in Illinois. In the end, more than forty five

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<v Speaker 1>people across six states contracted the virus. The spread prompted

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<v Speaker 1>the CDC to bust out a few reserve smallpox vaccines

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<v Speaker 1>that the US government had stockpiled in case of a

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<v Speaker 1>bioterrorism attack. Unfortunately, there were no fatalities from the two

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<v Speaker 1>thousand three outbreak. However, the incident did lead to a

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<v Speaker 1>ban on the sale of some West African rodents. There

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<v Speaker 1>are currently two vaccines approved in the United States for

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<v Speaker 1>preventing monkeypox. A small pox vaccine that was approved by

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<v Speaker 1>the US Federal Drug Administration, or FDA in two thousand

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<v Speaker 1>seven called a CAM two thousand, and a smallpox plus

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<v Speaker 1>monkeypox vaccine that the FDA approved in twenty nineteen called

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<v Speaker 1>Genius Again. These smallpox and monkeypox viruses are similar enough

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<v Speaker 1>that smallpox vaccines can give people some immunity to both.

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<v Speaker 1>They basically teach your immune system what the pox virus

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<v Speaker 1>looks like, so that it will target and destroy monkeypox

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<v Speaker 1>or smallpox if it enters your body later. This can

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<v Speaker 1>prevent infection entirely or bless in the severity of an

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<v Speaker 1>infection if it does slip through. The two seven vaccine

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<v Speaker 1>a CAM two thousand injects a live virus into the skin,

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<v Speaker 1>forming a scab that can spread the virus if you

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<v Speaker 1>mess with it. The vaccine has also been associated with

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<v Speaker 1>some serious side effects, so it shouldn't be taken by

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<v Speaker 1>people who have certain risk factors, including pregnancy, multiple heart risks,

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<v Speaker 1>skin conditions like dermatitis or exema, a weakened immune system

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<v Speaker 1>or some types of cancer, or who are being treated

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<v Speaker 1>with anticancer drugs or immune suppressants. If you're considering getting vaccinated,

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<v Speaker 1>talk to your health care professional about any of these

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<v Speaker 1>risk factors that you might have. Meanwhile, the twenty nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>vaccine Geneos injects a weakened version of a virus into

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<v Speaker 1>the skin. It can't replicate, and it's considered safer for

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<v Speaker 1>more people. This vaccine is been in two doses four

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<v Speaker 1>weeks apart. As of this recording, the United States has

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<v Speaker 1>administered over three hundred thousand doses of genios and it's

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<v Speaker 1>put in an order for nearly seven million more from

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<v Speaker 1>its makers. And so who should get vaccinated on a

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<v Speaker 1>national level, if you've had close contact with an infected person,

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<v Speaker 1>if your immune system is weakened, or if you have

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<v Speaker 1>dermatitis or exema, you're eligible for a GENIOS vaccine. Some

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<v Speaker 1>state and local governments have also opened up availability to

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<v Speaker 1>people who have had multiple sexual partners in the past

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<v Speaker 1>two weeks. Today's episode is based on the article Monkeypops

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<v Speaker 1>confirmed in the US and Europe. What you Need to

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<v Speaker 1>Know on how stuffworks dot Com, written by Joanna Thompson.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is production to by Heart Radio and partnership

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<v Speaker 1>with how stuff works dot Com, and is produced by

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