With the United States, and countries around the world, preoccupied with the COVID-19 pandemic, a minor disease known as monkeypox has been reported in several states.
On Sunday, President Biden said that “everybody” should be concerned about the spread of monkeypox. The CDC placed an alert for the disease on its outbreak watchlist, however, its current progression does not indicate a wider problem.
There are only 38 confirmed cases of monkeypox worldwide with at least three patients undergoing testing for the virus in the United States. The lack of current cases indicates that this disease is highly unlikely to trigger a global health emergency.
First reported in 1958, the disease was detected in lab monkeys with the first human case reported in 1970. The monkeypox virus belongs to the same genus, Orthopoxvirus , which contains the virus that causes smallpox and cowpox.
Unlike COVID-19, monkeypox usually requires sustained close contact with an infected person in order to transmit the disease. Symptoms will typically appear around 6-13 days after exposure and last between two and four weeks.
The symptoms of monkeypox include large red circles that slowly grow and fill with pus as well as a fever and body aches. The CDC reports the fatality rate being around 3.3% in Nigeria, with most of the fatalities being associated with individuals having pre-existing conditions and the immunocompromised. Early testing indicates that the smallpox vaccine is effective against the monkeypox virus as well.
Although risk and lethality remain low, the CDC recommends international travelers take precautions, especially when traveling to regions in Central and West Africa. For more information, please visit the CDC website.
This blog post is part of the CIMA Law Group blog. If you are located in Arizona and are seeking legal services, CIMA Law Group specializes in Immigration Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.
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