key facts
Monkeypox virus is caused by monkeypox, which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus, a descendant of the smallpox virus.
Monkeypox is a zoonotic viral disease that occurs mainly in the tropical rainforest regions of Central and West Africa and is occasionally transmitted to other regions.
Monkeypox usually accompanies fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes, and may lead to a host of medical complications.
Monkeypox usually goes away on its own and symptoms last two to four weeks. It may cause serious conditions. More recently, the death rate from all infections has ranged between 3 and 6 percent.
The monkeypox virus is transmitted to humans through close contact with an infected person, animal, or material contaminated with the virus.
The monkeypox virus is transmitted from person to person through close contact with sores, body fluids, respiratory droplets, and contaminated objects such as bedding.
The clinical symptoms of monkeypox are similar to those of smallpox, an infection similar to the smallpox virus that was declared worldwide eradicated in 1980. Monkeypox is less contagious than smallpox and causes less serious disease.
Vaccines used during the smallpox eradication program also provide protection against monkeypox. New vaccines have been developed, one of which has been approved, to prevent monkeypox.
An antiviral agent has also been licensed to treat monkeypox and was originally developed to treat smallpox.
an introduction
Monkeypox is a zoonotic viral disease (a virus transmitted from animals to humans) whose symptoms are very similar to those seen in the past in patients with smallpox, although clinically less serious. After smallpox was eradicated in 1980 and vaccination against smallpox was subsequently discontinued, monkeypox emerged as the most dangerous virus of the smallpox family to public health. Monkeypox occurs mainly in central and western Africa, often near tropical rainforests, and is becoming increasingly common in urban areas. The host animals include a group of rodents and non-human primates.....