Anatom3DMpox (monkeypox)
Mpox (variola simiarum) · Mpox (opičí neštovice)
What it is
A pox virus related to smallpox, spread by close contact; the 2022 outbreak spread mainly through sex, with painful genital and body lesions.
Symptoms & signs
- Fever, headache, swollen glands
- rash turning to fluid-filled, then crusted spots
- painful genital or anal sores
- mouth sores
🚩 Get help if…
- call 112 / 911 now Painful red eye or blurred sight
- call 112 / 911 now Breathless or confused
- see a doctor soon Sores in the mouth or throat so you cannot eat or drink
- see a doctor soon Severe pain in the back passage or unable to pass urine
Where it strikes
Medical treatment
- PCR swab trials support
- Supportive care and pain relief trials support
- Isolation until the lesions heal trials support
- Tecovirimat — randomised trials (PALM007 in the Congo, STOMP) found no faster healing than placebo not confirmed in trials
- MVA-BN vaccination for those at risk — good protection in observational data, no randomised outcome trial mixed evidence
Natural & lifestyle
- Avoiding close contact with the lesions trials support
- Vaccination if at risk, weighed as above mixed evidence
Emerging & experimental
- Brincidofovir
- mRNA vaccines
Alternative, off-label & anecdotal
Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.
- Oatmeal baths and zinc paste for itchy sores — soothing anecdotal / traditional
- Vitamin D and zinc — support immunity; untested here early / small studies
- Ivermectin — no activity against pox viruses shown anecdotal / traditional