00:00 Since early May, monkeypox has been spreading at unprecedented levels in countries where the
00:05 disease rarely occurs. But what is monkeypox and what should you know about the viral infection?
00:12 The monkeypox virus is closely related to the virus that causes smallpox,
00:16 although it causes milder disease than its cousin and is far less contagious.
00:21 The virus was first discovered in 1958 when lab monkeys at a research institute in Copenhagen
00:28 caught the virus. The disease was named monkeypox for this reason, even though later on, researchers
00:34 realized that rodents, not monkeys, likely serve as the natural reservoir for the virus in the
00:40 wild. The first human case of monkeypox was reported in 1970 in the Democratic Republic
00:46 of the Congo, and it wasn't until 2003 that any human cases were reported outside of Africa.
00:52 In general, monkeypox regularly circulates in roughly a dozen Central and West African countries,
00:59 and in the last few decades, only sporadic cases and small outbreaks have cropped up in other
01:03 countries, including the US, UK, Israel, and Singapore. That's what makes the 2022 outbreak so
01:11 unusual. As of July 23rd, when the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health
01:17 emergency, more than 16,000 cases of monkeypox had been detected in 75 countries and territories,
01:24 and those numbers continue to grow even now. Symptoms of monkeypox infection include fever,
01:31 headaches, muscle aches, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes, although not everyone in the current
01:36 outbreak has developed these flu-like symptoms. The infection is best known for causing skin rashes
01:42 that often appear on the face, oral cavity, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet,
01:47 and in the current outbreak, the rashes have commonly developed around the genitals and anus.
01:51 These rashes typically start out as discolored patches of skin and then form into raised bumps,
01:57 blisters, and large pus-filled pimples that eventually scab over and fall off. During the
02:02 current outbreak, some people have had rashes in different stages of progression at the same
02:07 body site. The type of monkeypox driving the outbreak, called the West African plague,
02:13 is rarely fatal. Its case fatality rate is estimated between 1% and 3.5%. In most cases,
02:20 infected people recover without any treatment and their symptoms last about two to four weeks.
02:25 That said, children younger than eight, people with weakened immune systems or a history of
02:30 eczema, and people who are pregnant or breastfeeding face a greater chance of becoming
02:35 severely ill from the infection. Monkeypox can spread from animals to humans when people come
02:40 into contact with the blood, bodily fluids, rashes, or sores of infected animals. People can also
02:46 catch the virus if they're scratched or bitten by an infected animal, or if they consume undercooked
02:51 meat or use products made from infected animals. Monkeypox can spread from person to person when
03:05 people come into direct contact with an infected person's rashes, scabs, or bodily fluids.
03:10 Including pus, mucus, and saliva, or with materials contaminated with these bodily fluids.
03:16 Direct contact here may mean face-to-face, skin-to-skin, mouth-to-mouth, or mouth-to-skin
03:22 contact. The virus can also pass through the placenta in pregnant people and infect the
03:27 developing fetus. In addition, it can sometimes spread via respiratory droplets, meaning small
03:33 drops of saliva and mucus that are expelled from the mouth of an infected person and can be inhaled
03:38 by people nearby. So far, the 2022 outbreak has heavily impacted men who have sex with men,
03:44 and there's been disinformation circulating that suggests monkeypox only spreads through sexual
03:50 intercourse. Monkeypox can definitely spread through sexual activities due to the close
03:54 physical contact involved, but the virus can also spread during non-sexual close contact.
03:59 In addition, there's no evidence that the virus spreads through semen or vaginal fluids.
04:04 In short, men who have sex with men are no more prone to monkeypox infection than anyone else.
04:09 Anyone who has close physical contact of any kind with someone who has monkeypox is at risk,
04:14 regardless of who they are, what they do, who they have sex with, or any other factor.
04:20 For more information on how to prevent the spread of monkeypox, and to learn about what
04:24 treatments and vaccines are available, visit livescience.com. You can find the link in the description below.
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