Monkeypox was first discovered in the late 1950s after cropping up among monkeys kept for research. Like smallpox and chickenpox, it is characterized by flu-like symptoms and pus-filled blisters and sores that appear on the skin.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), monkeypox also disappeared for decades with smallpox’s eradication in 1980.
But the virus reemerged in Nigeria in 2017, and the country has since seen at least 450 cases since then, with at least eight cases reported internationally.
The CDC noted that the virus appears to primarily occur in men who have sex with other men.
“Many of these global reports of monkeypox cases are occurring within sexual networks,” CDC director of high-consequence pathogens Inger Damon said. “However, healthcare providers should be alert to any rash that has features typical of monkeypox. We’re asking the public to contact their healthcare provider if they have a new rash and are concerned about monkeypox.”…