Monkeypox, which mostly occurs in west and central Africa, is a zoonosis, (that is, a disease that is transmitted from infected animals to humans) similar to human smallpox, though milder. Its first human case was recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 1970s. Best Book for Current Affairs & General Knowledge Preparation
The number of cases in West Africa has increased in the last decade.
Symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headaches and skin rashes starting on the face and spreading to the rest of the body.
It also causes the lymph nodes to swell (lymphadenopathy), which does not exist in smallpox.
Smallpox was declared eradicated in 1980, whereas human monkeypox is endemic in villages of Central and West Africa.
The infection was first discovered in 1958 following two outbreaks of a pox-like disease in colonies of monkeys kept for research which led to the name ‘monkeypox’.
The first human case was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The virus does not spread easily between people, but transmission can occur through contact with body fluids, monkeypox sores, items such as bedding or clothing that have been contaminated with fluids or sores, or through respiratory droplets following prolonged face-to-face contact.
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