people can get monkeypox from an animal with monkeypox if they are bitten or if they touch the animal's blood, body fluids, or its rash.
The incubation period (interval from infection to onset of symptoms) of monkeypox varies from 6 to 16 days.
In the spring of 2003, monkeypox cases were confirmed in the Midwest of the United States of America, marking the first reported occurrence of the disease outside of the African continent.
Close physical contact with monkeypox infected people should be avoided.
Transmission can also occur by inoculation or via the placenta (congenital monkeypox).
In Africa, monkeypox infection has been found in many animal species: rope squirrels, tree squirrels, Gambian rats, striped mice, doormice and primates.
More recently, monkeypox has been reported in Unity, Sudan.
However, smallpox no longer occurs, following its worldwide eradication in 1980, whereas monkeypox still occurs sporadically in parts of Africa.
Doubts persist on the natural history of the virus and further studies are needed to identify the exact reservoir of the monkeypox virus and how it is maintained in nature.
The symptoms of monkeypox usually last from 14 to 21 days.
Preventing monkeypox expansion through animal trade.
The monkeypox virus can cause a fatal disease in humans; it is similar to human smallpox, although typically much less serious.
There is no evidence to date that person-to-person transmission alone can sustain monkeypox in the human population.
The monkeypox virus is transmitted to people from a variety of wild animals and it spreads in human population through human-to-human transmission.
There are no drugs or vaccines available for monkeypox, although vaccination against smallpox has been proven to be 85% effective in preventing monkeypox in the past.
During monkeypox outbreaks, close contact with other patients is the most significant risk factor for monkeypox virus infection.
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