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
00:14related to 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
00:34realized 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
00:50were reported outside of Africa. In general, monkeypox regularly circulates in
00:56roughly a dozen Central and West African countries and in the last few decades
01:00only sporadic cases and small outbreaks have cropped up in other countries
01:04including 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
01:16the outbreak a public health emergency. More than 16,000 cases of monkeypox had
01:21been detected in 75 countries and territories and those numbers continue to
01:26grow even now. Symptoms of monkeypox infection include fever, headaches, muscle
01:32aches, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes, although not everyone in the current
01:36outbreak has developed these flu-like symptoms. The infection is best known for
01:41causing skin rashes that often appear on the face, oral cavity, palms of the hands, and
01:46soles of the feet. And in the current outbreak the rashes have commonly developed
01:50around the genitals and anus. These rashes typically start out as discolored
01:54patches of skin and then form into raised bumps, blisters, and large pus-filled
01:59pimples that eventually scab over and fall off. During the current outbreak some
02:04people have had rashes in different stages of progression at the same body site.
02:08The type of monkey box driving the outbreak, called the West African clade, is
02:13rarely fatal. Its case fatality rate is estimated between one percent and three
02:18point five percent. In most cases infected people recover without any
02:22treatment and their symptoms last about two to four weeks. That said, children
02:27younger than eight, people with weakened immune systems or a history of eczema, and
02:31people who are pregnant or breastfeeding face a greater chance of becoming
02:35severely ill from the infection. Monkeypox can spread from animals to
02:39humans 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're scratched or
02:48bitten by an infected animal or if they consume undercooked meat or use products
02:53made from infected animals.
03:02monkeypox 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
03:14materials contaminated with these bodily fluids. Direct contact here may mean face-to-face, skin-to-skin,
03:20mouth-to-mouth, or mouth-to-skin contact. The virus can also pass through the placenta in
03:26pregnant people and infect the developing fetus. In addition, it can sometimes spread
03:31via respiratory droplets, meaning small drops of saliva and mucus that are expelled from the
03:35mouth of an infected person and can be inhaled by people nearby. So far, the 2022 outbreak has
03:42heavily impacted men who have sex with men, and there's been disinformation circulating that
03:47suggests monkeypox only spreads through sexual intercourse. Monkeypox can definitely spread
03:52through sexual activities due to the close physical contact involved, but the virus can
03:57also spread during non-sexual close contact. In addition, there's no evidence that the virus
04:02spreads through semen or vaginal fluids. In short, men who have sex with men are no more prone
04:07to monkeypox infection than anyone else. Anyone who has close physical contact of any kind
04:12with someone who has monkeypox is at risk, regardless of who they are, what they do,
04:17who they have sex with, or any other factor. For more information on how to prevent the spread
04:22of monkeypox, and to learn about what treatments and vaccines are available, visit livescience.com.
04:29You can find the link in the description below.
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