Monkeypox is a viral disease, distantly related to its far more deadly cousin, smallpox. So far this year, it has been discovered in dozens of countries that are generally not familiar with monkeypox, with about 113 cases in the U.S., 15 of them in Illinois.
First documented in people in Africa in 1970, monkeypox has probably been circulating in central and west Africa for decades. It gained its name because it was originally discovered in monkeys.
The current version of monkeypox does not spread easily; spread appears to require close contact, in particular sexual contact, with an infected individual. The mortality rate is currently in the range of 3% to 6%, according to the World Health Organization, and to date there have been no recorded fatalities this year in the U.S. So no worries, right?
