Monkeypox in the United States Fast Facts

Here’s a look at monkeypox in the United States. In 2022, an outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO). The virus originated in Africa and is the cousin of the smallpox virus.

It generally causes pimple- or blister-like lesions and flu-like symptoms such as fever. The disease is rarely fatal.

Monkeypox spreads through close contact. This includes direct physical contact with lesions as well as “respiratory secretions” shared through face-to-face interaction and touching objects that have been contaminated by monkeypox lesions or fluids. The virus may also pass to a fetus through the placenta.

Anyone can become ill from monkeypox, but the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that more than 99% of monkeypox cases in the United States in the 2022 outbreak have been among men who have sex with men. However, monkeypox is not generally considered a sexually transmitted disease.

Monkeypox is usually found in West and Central Africa, but additional cases have been seen in Europe, including the United Kingdom, and other parts of the world in recent years. Those cases are typically linked to international travel or imported animals infected with the poxvirus.

WHO has named two additional virus variants and is working with International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) to rename the monkeypox virus using non-stigmatizing, non-offensive social and cultural nomenclature.

Agencies