Monkeypox Explainer

Live Science

Monkeypox is a disease caused by the monkeypox virus, a pathogen closely related to variola virus, which causes smallpox. Monkeypox and smallpox infections trigger similar symptoms, but monkeypox tends to be far milder by comparison.

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00:00Since early May, monkeypox has been spreading at unprecedented levels in

00:04countries where the disease rarely occurs. But what is monkeypox? And what

00:10should you know about the viral infection? The monkeypox virus is closely related

00:15to the virus that causes smallpox, although it causes milder disease than

00:19its cousin and is far less contagious. The virus was first discovered in 1958

00:25when lab monkeys at a research institute in Copenhagen caught the virus. The

00:30disease was named monkeypox for this reason, even though later on researchers

00:35realized that rodents, not monkeys, likely serve as the natural reservoir for the

00:39virus in the wild. The first human case of monkeypox was reported in 1970 in the

00:45Democratic Republic of the Congo and it wasn't until 2003 that any human cases

00:51were reported outside of Africa. In general, monkeypox regularly circulates

00:55in roughly a dozen Central and West African countries. And in the last few

01:00decades, only sporadic cases and small outbreaks have cropped up in other

01:03countries, including the US, UK, Israel, and Singapore. That's what makes the 2022

01:10outbreak so unusual. As of July 23rd, when the World Health Organization declared the

01:16outbreak a public health emergency. More than 16,000 cases of monkeypox had been

01:21detected in 75 countries and territories, and those numbers continue to grow even

01:27now. Symptoms of monkeypox infection include fever, headaches, muscle aches,

01:32fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes, although not everyone in the current outbreak has

01:37developed these flu-like symptoms. The infection is best known for causing skin

01:41rashes that often appear on the face, oral cavity, palms of the hands, and soles of

01:46the feet. And in the current outbreak, the rashes have commonly developed around the

01:50genitals and anus. These rashes typically start out as discolored patches of skin

01:55and then form into raised bumps, blisters, and large pus-filled pimples that

02:00eventually scab over and fall off. During the current outbreak, some people have had

02:04rashes in different stages of progression at the same body site. The type of

02:09monkeypox driving the outbreak, called the West African clade, is rarely fatal. Its

02:15case fatality rate is estimated between 1% and 3.5%. In most cases, infected

02:21people recover without any treatment and their symptoms last about two to four

02:25weeks. That said, children younger than eight, people with weakened immune systems

02:29or a history of eczema, and people who are pregnant or breastfeeding, face a greater

02:34chance of becoming severely ill from the infection. Monkeypox can spread from animals,

02:39to humans, when people come into contact with the blood, bodily fluids, rashes, or sores

02:44of infected animals. People can also catch the virus if they are scratched or bitten by an

02:49infected animal, or if they consume undercooked meat or use products made from infected animals.

02:55Monkeypox can spread from person to person when people come into direct contact with an infected

03:08person's rashes, scabs, or bodily fluids, including pus, mucus, and saliva, or with materials contaminated

03:15with these bodily fluids. Direct contact here may mean face-to-face, skin-to-skin, mouth-to-mouth,

03:22or mouth-to-skin contact. The virus can also pass through the placenta in pregnant people and infect

03:28the developing fetus. In addition, it can sometimes spread via respiratory droplets, meaning small drops

03:33of saliva and mucus that are expelled from the mouth of an infected person and can be inhaled by people

03:38nearby. So far, the 2022 outbreak has heavily impacted men who have sex with men, and there's

03:45been disinformation circulating that suggests monkeypox only spreads through sexual intercourse.

03:51Monkeypox can definitely spread through sexual activities due to the close physical contact

03:55involved, but the virus can also spread during non-sexual close contact. In addition, there's no

04:01evidence that the virus spreads through semen or vaginal fluids. In short, men who have sex with men

04:06are no more prone to monkeypox infection than anyone else. Anyone who has close physical contact of any

04:12kind with someone who has monkeypox is at risk, regardless of who they are, what they do, who they

04:18have sex with, or any other factor. For more information on how to prevent the spread of monkeypox, and to

04:24learn about what treatments and vaccines are available, visit livescience.com. You can find the link in the

04:31description below.

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