New Delhi: Skin rashes and fever, common symptoms in both chickenpox and chickenpox, have confused people, although doctors have pointed out that there is a difference in how the symptoms of both viral diseases manifest in patients. 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. A patient can determine whether he has chicken pox or not by understanding the sequence and onset of symptoms,” said Dr Ramanjit Singh. 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 monkeypox case was admitted to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (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.” Dr. Satish Koul also said that the duration of fever is longer in monkey pox 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 a ribonucleic acid (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 monkey pox, Dr SCL Gupta explained that such a virus requires a host animal but is self-limiting with sore throat, fever and normal signs of 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, monkey pox 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 an infection in the throat, we use the generic drugs that we usually take. So here it’s 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 and Head of Department of 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. But those who have received the smallpox vaccine are less likely to contract smallpox, he argued. “The smallpox vaccine was discontinued after the World Health Organization (WHO) said the disease had been completely eradicated around 1979-80. People born before 1980 who have had a smallpox vaccine are less likely to get smallpox .Both smallpox and smallpox are caused by viruses of the same family,” added Dr. Rajinder Kumar Singhal. Because of this similarity between smallpox and monkeypox, many countries have allowed the administration of “smallpox” vaccines, but in India, it is still not allowed. “The virus is in its infancy and doctors are still discovering it,” added Dr SCL Gupta. (Other than the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published by a syndicated feed.)
