Monkeypox, Explained

New York health officials announced late on Friday that an NYC resident had tested positive for the virus that causes monkeypox.

• If confirmed, it would be the second official case in the US this year, after a Massachusetts man who had recently traveled to Canada was diagnosed last Wednesday.

🤔🐒 What’s going on?... Monkeypox is “a rare but potentially serious viral illness” that begins with flu-like symptoms and lymph node swelling, later progressing to a rash on the face or body, according to health officials.

• It was largely forgotten when its cousin virus, smallpox, was officially eradicated in 1980, since the vaccine against smallpox is believed to work against both viruses. 
• But in recent weeks, more than a dozen countries across four continents have reported confirmed and possible cases.

🦠 More deets...

• Monkeypox has two main types – one with a fatality rate around 1%, and another with a fatality rate close to 10%; experts say the current circulating virus strain appears to be the milder type.
• The virus doesn’t spread easily between people, but it can be transmitted by droplets and through close contact with infected skin lesions or contaminated materials.
• Monkeypox is also a DNA virus, so it doesn’t mutate as rapidly as RNA viruses like Covid or the flu.

💬 What they’re saying: "I don't think there's a reason for panic. I don't think we're going to have tens of thousands of cases,” Daniel Bausch, president of the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene, told Axios.