MONKEYPOX lesions can vary hugely from person to person.
Patients with the disease have presented with spots that have looked like mosquito bites, pimples or even ingrown hairs – not just the large pustules usually associated with the infection.
The spots can also appear differently on different skin tones.
The darker the skin tone, the darker the spot can present. Similarly, on lighter skin tones, spots may appear lighter or more red.
This uncertainty around what the virus actually looks like could mean people are going undiagnosed and potentially spreading the bug without realising.
But now, a scientific journal report has revealed what monkeypox can look like on different skin tones and body parts.
According to the Lancet, lesions can appear anywhere on the body, not just on the genitals, which was where medics initially believed they were localised.
Some patients develop just a rash, some have a single lesion, while others have none.
It is also possible for monkeypox to only show inside the body, such as in the mouth or in the anus.
Spots that crop up inside the body tend to be white, whereas spots on the body can be red, white with dark insides, or look more like open sores.
The colour of the spots can also vary slightly on different skin tones.
Being able to recognise what these lesions look like, and where to spot them, can help both medics and patients identify how and when people may have contracted the virus.
If you are unsure about a rash or lesion, it’s best to get checked by a medic.
“The only way you can be sure that the symptoms you are experiencing were caused by a problem other than monkeypox is to see a professional and seek their advice,” Dr Rabi Nambi, from the British Association of Dermatologists said.
Monkeypox is still fairly uncommon in the UK.
There are now at least 3,279 known cases of the bug, with infections slowing in recent weeks.
However, a link has been found between monkeypox and a terrifying brain condition.
Medics found that some patients who picked up the bug had encephalitis, which is inflammation of the brain.
The 11 signs of monkeypox you need to know
Experts at the UK Health Security Agency have said all Brits should be on the look out for key signs and symptoms.
The signs may include:
- Fever
- Headache
- Muscle aches
- Backache
- Chills
- Exhaustion
- Night sweats
- Cold-like symptoms, such as congestion and runny nose
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Swollen groin
- Rashes and lesions
Medics said that complications of the illness were documented as:
- low mood
- severe pain
- conjunctivitis
This is known to cause confusion and seizures and experts said the condition has been seen in enough monkeypox cases to ‘warrant concern’.
Earlier this month, parents were warned to be on the look out for monkeypox symptoms after 31 children in the US tested positive for the bug.
In August, The Sun reported that some NHS patients will trial the first ever drug to treat the disease.
Oxford University scientists who discovered life-saving Covid medications now plan to stamp out the viral skin infection.
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