Health authorities in Europe, North America, Israel and Australia have identified more than 100 cases of monkeypox in recent days.
Officials around the world are keeping watch for more cases because, for the first time, the rare disease appears to be spreading among people who didn’t travel to Africa, where monkeypox is endemic. They stress, however, that the risk to the general population is low.Monkeypox is a virus that originates in wild animals like rodents and primates, and occasionally jumps to people. It belongs to the same virus family as smallpox.
“This may just be unlucky that happened to get into this one particular community first,” said Dr. Jake Dunning, an infectious diseases researcher at the University of Oxford, who is also involved in treating cases in London. “It's just that they are a community and by having sex with each other, that is how it's spreading,” he said.
Most people recover within about two to four weeks without needing to be hospitalized, monkeypox can be fatal for up to 6% of cases and is thought to be more severe in children.The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control recommended all suspected cases be isolated and that high-risk contacts be offered a smallpox vaccine. The U.K. is offering high-risk contacts the smallpox vaccine and recommending anyone who might be infected to isolate until they recover.
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