Hyderabad: Need not panic over Monkeypox as it takes much longer to transmit to another person compared to Covid-19, says Avash Pani, Consultant Paediatrician at Apollo Cradle & Children’s Hospital. Although he warned that pregnant women and kids below eight are at risk.
In a release, Pani said Monkeypox has several symptoms common to other viruses, including ‘hand, foot and mouth disease’ or measles and chicken-pox, and it is best to consult a paediatrician for a correct diagnosis.
It is still quite rare, and this makes it a less dangerous illness, he said that most people are known to heal by themselves but in exceptional cases, pneumonia, eye or brain infections can occur.
A foetus may contract it from the mother, in the womb, the Paediatrician said that pregnant women and children below 8 are at a greater risk for severe disease.
This virus is contagious, and usually spreads through close physical contact. It can take between five- days to three weeks after exposure, for symptoms to become evident, he said. Though children can contract this virus, parents can rest assured that in nearly all children the risk is low.
Washing hands with a mild soap or an alcohol-based sanitizer can prevent most infections. Avoiding close contact with suspected or confirmed cases. Little children, pregnant women and nursing mothers should not have any physical interaction with the infected person, he said.
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