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 countries where the disease rarely occurs.

00:07But what is monkeypox? And what should you know about the viral infection?

00:12The monkeypox virus is closely related to the virus that causes smallpox,

00:17although it causes milder disease than its cousin and is far less contagious.

00:22The virus was first discovered in 1958 when lab monkeys at a research institute in Copenhagen caught the virus.

00:30The disease was named monkeypox for this reason, even though later on, researchers realized that rodents, not monkeys,

00:37likely serve as the natural reservoir for the virus in the wild.

00:41The first human case of monkeypox was reported in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,

00:47and it wasn't until 2003 that any human cases were reported outside of Africa.

00:53In general, monkeypox regularly circulates in roughly a dozen Central and West African countries,

00:59and in the last few decades, only sporadic cases and small outbreaks have cropped up in other countries,

01:05including the U.S., U.K., Israel, and Singapore.

01:09That's what makes the 2022 outbreak so unusual.

01:13As of July 23rd, when the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency,

01:19more than 16,000 cases of monkeypox had been detected in 75 countries and territories.

01:25And those numbers continue to grow even now.

01:28Symptoms of monkeypox infection include fever, headaches, muscle aches, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes,

01:35although not everyone in the current outbreak has developed these flu-like symptoms.

01:39The infection is best known for causing skin rashes that often appear on the face, oral cavity, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet.

01:47And in the current outbreak, the rashes have commonly developed around the genitals and anus.

01:52These rashes typically start out as discolored patches of skin and then form into raised bumps, blisters,

01:58and large, pus-filled pimples that eventually scab over and fall off.

02:03During the current outbreak, some people have had rashes in different stages of progression at the same body site.

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

02:15Its case fatality rate is estimated between 1% and 3.5%.

02:20In most cases, infected people recover without any treatment and their symptoms last about 2 to 4 weeks.

02:26That said, children younger than 8, people with weakened immune systems or a history of eczema,

02:31and people who are pregnant or breastfeeding face a greater chance of becoming severely ill from the infection.

02:38Monkeypox can spread from animals to humans when people come into contact with the blood, bodily fluids, rashes, or sores of infected animals.

02:46People can also catch the virus if they are scratched or bitten by an infected animal,

02:50or if they consume undercooked meat or use products made from infected animals.

03:03Monkeypox can spread from person to person when people come into direct contact with an infected person's rashes, scabs, or bodily fluids,

03:11including pus, mucus, and saliva, or with materials contaminated with these bodily fluids.

03:17Direct contact here may mean face-to-face, skin-to-skin, mouth-to-mouth, or mouth-to-skin contact.

03:24The virus can also pass through the placenta in pregnant people and infect the developing fetus.

03:29In addition, it can sometimes spread via respiratory droplets,

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

03:40So far, the 2022 outbreak has heavily impacted men who have sex with men,

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

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

03:56but the virus can also spread during non-sexual close contact.

04:00In addition, there is no evidence that the virus spreads through semen or vaginal fluids.

04:04In short, men who have sex with men are no more prone to monkeypox infection than anyone else.

04:09Anyone who has close physical contact of any kind with someone who has monkeypox is at risk,

04:15regardless of who they are, what they do, who they have sex with, or any other factor.

04:20For more information on how to prevent the spread of monkeypox,

04:23and to learn about what treatments and vaccines are available, visit LiveScience.com.

04:29You can find the link in the description below.

04:39Live Science

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