(STUDY FINDS) – Monkeypox may not be causing the same global panic that COVID-19 has, but the infectious disease is still spreading, with cases rising in several U.S. states. Although world health officials are holding off on calling the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency, here is everything you need to know to keep yourself safe this summer.
Monkeypox is a rare disease which belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox. Although it shares a similar name, monkeypox is not related to the chickenpox. The virus was discovered in 1958 after two outbreaks among research monkeys. Despite the disease getting its name from monkeys, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says its true origin is still a mystery.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says the first human case of monkeypox emerged in 1970 in a small child from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Before 2022, nearly every case of monkeypox involved a person in Africa or someone who traveled to a country where the disease is more common.
