A New Virus , A New Threat

As the world stands up after the setback of Covid-19, a new virus threat seems to have emerged. Calling it new, however, would be superfluous, for it has always been a cause of concern for the West African nations.

But as of May 2022, there has been a rise in monkeypox virus cases in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States , and the European Union . Strangely enough, while the disease is a killer in the African continent , the newer cases seem to be mild , and oddly deathless. There are 2 main reasons theorised for this. The first being the level of healthcare in the latter countries is vastly superior, and the second and more concerning is that the disease over time has mutated to be less lethal , but more contagious.

The latter begs to question , if it mutated to spread once , how soon will a more lethal incarnation come out to haunt the people . Scientists and experts theorise too that while it seems to come out of nowhere , the virus in fact must have mutated and spread quite a while ago , long before even Covid-19. The most likely cause would be that over the years as the mass smallpox vaccine effects wore off the population , the virus slowly mutated and was dispersed from the African continent in drips. A case here , or a case there. But these cases were never reported or suspected of being monkeypox, and the only reason people are stepping up now is because of the increased awareness due to Covid. It's not a case of a virus outbreak, but rather a discovery of an inherent problem due to a rise in awareness.

This is the point that I wanted to bring forward with this small article. Monkeypox may be the new virus to be on the edge of , but one must remain calm, for , after our ordeal with Covid-19 , we are better prepared for epidemics . This virus is still nonlethal after so long, making it relatively safe. While it is still much better if we don't catch it , it is still not a killer like Covid was. As long as we take proper precautions , navigating this new challenge should be easy for all of us.

I hope you stay healthy and safe, have a good week.