What Is Monkeypox?

Monkeypox is a viral infection caused by the monkeypox virus. If you have been exposed, within 3 weeks you will notice flu-like symptoms along with a rash that can look like pimples or blisters. There is currently no specific treatment for monkeypox, but studies show that smallpox vaccines may provide some protection against it.

How Is Monkeypox Transmitted?

It can spread from person to person through close contact. Someone who has the disease can pass it to you through:

• Contact with body fluids such as blood or semen
• Contact with monkeypox lesions on their skin (including inside the nose and mouth)
• Respiratory droplets that you breathe in
• Items such as bedding or clothing that have been in contact with infected body fluids (this happens less often)

Monkeypox can also spread from animals to humans. Infected animals can transmit the virus if they bite or scratch you. It is unclear whether dogs and cats can become infected, but the World Health Organization says you should assume that any mammal can catch monkeypox.

According to the organization, infected people can pass monkeypox to their pets through:

• Cuddling
• Licking
• Sharing sleeping areas
• Sharing food

If you have monkeypox, stay away from wildlife and pets so you do not pass the disease on to them. If you have pets, you may want to ask someone else to care for them until you have fully recovered. You can also catch monkeypox by eating raw or contaminated meat. The virus can enter your body through a break in your skin (which you may not even notice) or through your mouth, nose or eyes. You can breathe it in, but you would probably need to be in close contact for quite a long time. This is because most droplets do not travel very far. Because monkeypox can also be transmitted through other forms of contact, it is not technically considered a sexually transmitted infection (STI). However, people with monkeypox can pass it on during sexual contact.

What Are the Symptoms of Monkeypox?

It usually takes 1 to 2 weeks after exposure to the virus to become ill with monkeypox, but it can take up to 3 weeks. With the recent outbreak, doctors have noticed several new symptoms that do not fit the typical description of monkeypox. In addition to the usual signs, the new symptoms of monkeypox can include:

It usually takes 1 to 2 weeks after exposure to the virus to become ill with monkeypox, but it can take up to 3 weeks.

• A painful rash that may start in your groin, genital area or around your anus
• Bumps that look like blisters, pus-filled bumps or open sores
• Bumps at different stages, even when they are in the same area
• Some people may not have a fever or flu-like symptoms before the rash. Some people never have a fever at all.

In some cases, people have reported other symptoms such as pain around the anus, the urge to pass stool even when the bowels are empty (tenesmus), bleeding from the lower part of the large intestine (the rectum) and painful inflammation of the lining of the anus and rectum ( proctitis ). Doctors have linked these symptoms to painful bumps in the area.

Experts are not sure what is causing the change in symptoms, but research is ongoing. In the meantime, if you notice these symptoms, tell your doctor right away.

Symptoms can also include any of those seen in past outbreaks:

• Fever
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Muscle aches
• Chills
• Back pain
• Sore throat
• Dry cough
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Difficulty breathing (in severe cases)

The following symptoms were also commonly seen in previous outbreaks and may still occur:

Monkeypox Treatment

There is no specific treatment for monkeypox. Your doctor will probably help keep you comfortable and try to prevent serious complications with rest, plenty of fluids and over-the-counter medicines. To bring an outbreak under control, doctors may use the smallpox vaccine as well as antiviral drugs and vaccinia immune globulin, which is made from the blood of people who have been vaccinated against smallpox . If you have had a smallpox vaccine recently (within the last 3–5 years), you have some protection against monkeypox. Studies show that the smallpox vaccine is 85% effective in preventing monkeypox. The virus can spread to other parts of the body or to other people before it heals. If you get this vaccine, take care not to spread the virus while the lesion is healing.