The world had not even recovered from the large damages to life and economy caused worldwide by the COVID-19 pandemic before the monkeypox scare hit us badly. As more than 80 countries have reported monkeypox to date, the paranoia of the last year and the one preceding it has returned. Although it has not been declared an epidemic as of yet, many adverse effects of the monkeypox disease have come to the fore.
Academy Foundation doctor James Brunton Bednoch of Queens Mary University of London has acknowledged that monkeypox has also led to neurological and psychological issues in people. According to him, skin rashes and flu symptoms are just visible effects while the much deeper psychological effects remain hidden initially.
Top showsha video
According to a report published in the e-Clinical Medicine Journal, researchers dug out old data and analyzed it in comparison with new data, and found that 2 to 3 percent of people suffering from monkeypox developed serious problems related to neurology. Encephalitis was also seen in some of these people.
Encephalitis is a serious inflammatory disease of the brain that can lead to long-term disability. Although the number of people suffering from these complications was not very big, it still raises worries. Dr Brunton, one of the researchers, ruled out serious brain problems but complications such as encephalitis and seizure can be expected in a small proportion of people.
Dr James Brunton said that although this research has been done on a small sample, results show that in addition to serious and rare neurological problems, there has also been evidence of symptoms such as headache, muscle pain and fatigue in people with monkeypox. James said that however, the study did not know how severe these symptoms were and how long they stayed with the patients as additional research was needed to determine them.
The monkeypox outbreak remains a global concern and ongoing public health measures, including improving access to vaccination, are needed, the doctor said.
