As places like San Francisco and New York state declare the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency, there's a major question: how to talk about the virus in the first place.
Monkeypox, also known as hMPXV, has been spreading across the U.S. since May. As of Friday, there have been over 5,100 confirmed cases in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus causes similar symptoms to smallpox, like a rash, fever and headache. It's transmitted through close physical contact and it's rarely fatal.
