They have also advised to consult a doctor to clear any doubts. Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those previously seen in patients with smallpox, although it is clinically less severe. During the rainy season, people are more prone to viral infections and cases of chicken pox occur largely during this period along with other infections that also present with symptoms such as rashes and nausea, said Dr Ramanjit Singh, visiting consultant in dermatology at the hospital. Medanta. “Due to this condition, some patients get confused and mistake chicken pox for monkey pox. The patient can determine whether he has chicken pox or not by understanding the sequence and onset of symptoms,” Singh said. Explaining further, he said that monkey pox usually starts with fever, malaise, headache, sometimes sore throat and cough and lymphadenopathy (swollen lymph nodes) and all these symptoms appear four days before skin lesions, rashes and other problems that mainly start from hands and eyes and spreads throughout the body. Other experts agree and say that apart from the skin infection, there are other symptoms in the case of monkey pox, but it is always better to consult a doctor to clear any doubts. In a few recently reported cases, two suspected cases of monkeypox turned out to be chickenpox. A suspected case of monkeypox was admitted to LNJP Hospital in Delhi last week with fever and lesions, tested negative for the infection but was diagnosed with chickenpox. Similarly, an Ethiopian national, who had gone to Bengaluru, was tested for chicken pox after developing symptoms, but his report confirmed that he had chicken pox. India has so far reported four cases of smallpox – three from Kerala and one from Delhi. Dr Satish Koul, Director of Internal Medicine, Fortis Memorial Research Institute said, “In chicken pox, the lesions are larger than chicken pox. In chicken pox, the lesions are seen on the palms and soles. In chicken pox, the lesions self-limit after seven to eight days but not as much in monkeypox. The lesions are vesicular and itchy in chickenpox. In monkeypox the lesions are broad vesicular and not itchy.” Koul also said that the duration of fever is longer in monkeypox and such a patient has enlarged lymph nodes. Elaborating on the virus that causes chicken pox, Dr SCL Gupta, medical director of Batra Hospital, said that chicken pox is an RNA virus which is not so serious but also leads to skin rashes. “This is chicken pox season. Usually, during monsoons, there is this humidity, rise in temperature, logging of water, creation of humidity and wet clothes, all these lead to the growth of the virus. “Also, there is a religious aspect associated with the disease. People treat it as a ‘goddess’ and so such patients are not treated with any kind of medicine. They are kept in isolation and given time to heal,” he said. Talking about monkeypox, Gupta explained that such a virus requires an animal host, but is self-limiting with a sore throat, fever and normal signs of the virus. “The main sign of this virus is rashes on the body that have liquid inside. This leads to a viral infection that weakens the body’s resistance. But problems arise due to its complication. In case, any bacterial infection and gets a face and leads to blisters leading to further complications in the body. “Right now, monkeypox is in its infancy. We don’t have a proper treatment. We just follow the isolation method and treat the suspected patient according to his symptoms. If there is a throat infection, we use the generic drugs we usually take. So here it is about symptomatic treatment,” he said. Doctors have also received questions about whether previous chickenpox infection makes a patient immune to chickenpox, to which the answer is emphatically no. Dr Rajinder Kumar Singal, Senior Director & HOD, Internal Medicine, BLK Max Hospital, New Delhi, said that both are caused by different viruses, the mode of transmission is different and previous infection does not provide any protection against the new one. …
