Monkeypox
On July 23, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared monkeypox a global health emergency. Only four previous disease outbreaks have received this designation: Polio, Ebola, Zika, and Covid-19. Two weeks late, on August 4, Biden declared monkeypox a public health emergency in the US. What is monkeypox? Monkeypox virus is a member of the same family of viruses as the variola virus, the smallpox virus. It’s NOT related to chickenpox. In 1958 there were outbreaks of a “pox-like” disease in colonies of research monkeys, hence the name; however, the disease source is unknown. African primates and rodents may harbor the disease and infect humans. Monkeypox was first recorded in people in 1970, and before 2022, it had spread in areas of Central and Western Africa. Previous cases in other countries on multiple continents besides Africa were linked to international travel to endemic regions or via imported animals. What are the signs & symptoms? The physically prominent ...