Monkeypox: A Monkey's Perspective
Philip McKluskey
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Monkeys can be our best friends, but rarely is it understood by people that some animals do not make good friends to humans. Some of these animals may be as dangerous as a wild beast. It is therefore imperative to note that some common animals that are said to be unhygienic and should be avoided are Monkeys, Guinea Pig, and Poultry, some of them being disease causing species.
Having explained that, it is important to note that there are two kinds of virus known by the public: one, Non-human animals and other, human or other human. According to a published in the Journal of General Microbiology, H.Inf.Mes., "Viruses are infectious particles that cause an infection."
These infectious particles or infectious agents are viruses or germs and they are not bugs, neither do they transmit disease. The infections they cause are not contagious and are not contagious. So, what does the word disease mean? It means that the body of an organism has been infected with a virus or germs. The term virus derives from the Latin word "vir" or Greek "virus" that means small body or infectious particle. The word germs derives from the Greek word "germos" or small body.
Anyone who has come into contact with the viruses or the agent must remain away from other people
It is worthy of note that these infectious particles or virus may be inhaled or breathed in, some viruses can be transmitted from person to person through contaminated objects or being in contact with contaminated surfaces or objects with the virus or the agent itself. The common route of transmission is by direct contact and therefore, anyone who has come into contact with the viruses or the agent must remain away from other people.
According to Mrs. Chris Eluka, an infectious disease specialist at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, if any person comes into contact with an agent, and if the person is "highly allergic to that agent, it is likely that a red welt will develop on the skin;
Blood, Haemorrhage.
However, if the agent is non-toxic to the host, it will cause only a temporary swelling or redness. If, however, the host has a severe allergic reaction to the agent, the swelling or redness would get worse. For instance, if a person has a severe allergy to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, then, the person will develop a burning sensation of the skin, and some may experience chest pain or have difficulty breathing.
“I am just like you and we are the same"
Monkeys have always resented being considered a danger to humans. We asked one monkey at the Sacramento Zoo how he felt about being called a danger to society.
“I am just like you and we are the same," he replied.
According to Inegbalomo, the zookeeper, monkeys can and have caused many infectious diseases to human beings. He stated that it is an indication that there may be some virus or germs in monkeys.
“The diseases are similar, a monkey can be prone to transmit some diseases that you can't get from any other animal, the monkeys don't have any blood or lymph vessels and so they don't get malaria or things of that nature," he explained.
“They do not have any skin which is good for us. We have a lot of viruses in the skin. Some of these viruses are mainly going round as chicken pox. The skin is very porous, and it is really ideal for transmission, and some diseases which are the ones that humans get from these creatures," he said.
If they eat us, they will be dead.
We asked the local Orangutan how he felt about bananas being thrown at him in protest of Monkeypox.
“I don't know why people are doing this," he said. "I know why people like eating bananas. It is because of Vitamin B which is responsible for our growth.
If they eat us, they will be dead. We do not have any disease, because we do not eat them," he said.
According to our national Standard Specimen of 2007, Iboko, Benue State has a population of about 18,000 Igbo refugees from Cameroon. Our Orangutan researcher, Eluka, says it is possible that they carry a smallpox or any other deadly disease in them.
Mrs. Eluka also suggests that monkey pox was transmitted to humans by consumption of blood or lymph from animals. This means that a person who has been bitten or scratched by a monkey would not become infected with monkey pox. In effect, a person who has not had any contact with or come into contact with the virus will not get it.
It is not clear whether or not monkeypox is contagious.
Mrs. Chris Eluka also said that the origin of monkeypox is unknown. She further says that monkeypox virus is related to (related) to the virus that causes smallpox.
It is not clear whether or not monkeypox is contagious. Although monkeypox was known to be a pox that is spread through contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of the infected animal, human-to-human transmission was not known before the virus was sequenced in the 1970s.
Further investigations on the origin of monkeypox have shown that monkeypox is not associated with the human Yersinia pestis bacteria which is the cause of the more familiar and widespread infection, which is called Smallpox, or Variola Major. This means that, like smallpox, monkeypox is not a form of Variola virus, but a separate virus.
Scientists now believe that it originated about 30 to 800 years ago and is spread through contact with the bodily fluids of infected monkeys.
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