Because it was first identified in monkeys, the researchers called it the monkeypox virus. It was discovered by researchers in Denmark in 1958, when two outbreaks occurred in laboratory research monkeys that developed a pox-like rash. The monkeypox virus is an orthopoxvirus, a group of closely related viruses that includes the virus that causes smallpox. “Even without treatment, the mortality rate of monkeypox during the 2022 outbreak is very low, at less than 0.03%” “In particular, tecovirimat, an antiviral that targets the envelope protein of the monkeypox virus, may shorten the duration of illness, reduce the risk of death, and is generally very well tolerated,” says Dr. Treatments for smallpox can accelerate the resolution of mpox, he adds. In persons exposed to another individual with monkeypox, Jynneos may prevent the development of the disease if given within a few days of the exposure.” “A smallpox vaccine, Jynneos, is effective in the prevention of monkeypox in patients without exposure. “Monkeypox is a viral infection for which prevention and treatment options are available,” says Yale Medicine infectious diseases specialist Marwan Azar, MD. On August 4, 2022, the Biden administration declared mpox a public health emergency and took steps to ease access to vaccines. What began with just a handful of cases a few months earlier had ballooned to over 80,000 cases globally by late November, with over 29,000 cases in the U.S. But in May 2022, cases of mpox began to be reported in Europe and the United States. Historically, virtually all cases of mpox-outside of a few limited outbreaks-have occurred in Central and West Africa, where it has been a rare, endemic disease. The virus, which can cause flu-like symptoms, a painful rash and swollen lymph nodes, is related to other poxviruses that can infect humans and animals, including those that cause smallpox and cowpox. Mpox (formerly known as monkeypox), a disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus, is suddenly in the news.

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