1 Dear readers,

2 Are you ready to brush up your dermatological English? It is our very great pleasure to present the thirty-eighth English corner based on Monkeypox. Don’t forget you can use a dictionary to help you with the text, and of course, you should visit our website at http://anglaismedical.u-bourgogne.fr/ to work on your pronunciation or build your medical vocabulary. The site also includes a talking dictionary, medical videos, exercises, clinical cases, words and expressions for specialists…

3 In recent weeks, the world has been hit [1] with the arrival of a new health scare [2], in the form of monkeypox [3]. ‘Pox’ is derived from an old English word ‘pocc’, which means blister [4], ulcer or pustule. Better known poxes are chickenpox (varicella) and smallpox (variola), a deadly [5] disease, which has now been eradicated world-wide [6].

4 The virus that causes monkeypox is from the same family as the smallpox virus (orthopox viruses), and there are two clades, one from Central and one from West Africa. The virus involved in [7] the current [8] outbreak [9] is the West African type, which has less severe symptoms and outcomes [10]. Moreover, monkey-pox is nowhere near [11] as infectious as chickenpox or smallpox, and the risk of catching it is extremely low.

5 In Africa it was transmitted to humans via contact with rodents [12], such as squirrels [13] and rats, which are eaten as food. Typically, transmission occurs [14] through skin lesions, caused by bites [15] or scratches [16], for example, or via direct contact with an infected animal’s fur [17], blood, bodily fluids [18] or purulent pox sores [19]. Human-to-human transmission requires fairly [20] intimate contact, and in the current out-break, homosexual or bisexual men seem to be mainly [21] affected. The virus can be passed on [22] by contact with an infected person’s recently contaminated towel [23] or bedding [24], or prolonged contact with the skin (during sex, for example) especially if there are blisters, scabs [25] or rashes [26], and even from the saliva (kissing), coughs [27] or sneezes [28] of someone with the disease.

6 Concerning the course of the disease, the first symptoms occur from five to twenty-one days after infection, and these include a high temperature (with shivering [29] headache, muscle aches [30], swollen [31] lymph nodes [32] and tiredness [33]). About five days later, a rash appears. It generally starts on the face before spreading to [34] other parts of the body, including the genitals. It is at this point it is often confused with chickenpox, as the rash contains small pus-filled [35] blisters.

7 These blisters eventually [36] form scabs, which fall off spontaneously after a few days. From beginning to end, the symptoms last [37] from two to four weeks.

8 In most cases, the disease does not require treatment, but patients with a weakened [38] immune system may be given an MVA jab [39] (smallpox vaccine). People at risk of infection (healthcare workers [40], homosexual men, people who have been in close contact with mon-keypox-infected individuals) may be eligible for the MVA vaccine as a preventive measure. Otherwise [41], there are no particular treatments, except symptom relief [42]. Paracetamol can be taken for the headache or muscle pain, and calamine lotion or oatmeal paste [43] can be applied to [44] the skin to soothe [45] the itching [46] caused by the rash. As with chickenpox, it’s important not to scratch the blisters as there is a risk of secondary bacterial infection.

9 If someone suspects they may have monkeypox, they should self-isolate, contact a healthcare professional and follow the instructions given. It may be necessary to provide [47] a sample of the blister fluid for a PCR test to confirm the diagnosis. As well as avoiding [48] contact with other people during the course of the disease, it is important to avoid contact with any animal whatsoever [49]. To end on a positive note, in the current outbreak, there have been no recorded [50] deaths due to monkeypox.