Recently, more than 60 cases of monkeypox have been recorded in the world.. This is a disease that has a direct relationship with smallpox, which was eradicated back in the 1970s.. Mostly the disease occurs in Central and West Africa - countries with a humid climate, but recently cases of infection have been reported in Europe..

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What is known about the disease.

According to The Conversation, monkeypox was first reported in laboratory monkeys in the 1950s.. At the same time, scientists are not sure that monkeys are the main animal reservoirs (carriers) of the virus, it is likely that the name is not entirely correct.. In further research, scientists found that smaller animals such as rodents are the main reservoir..

Unlike COVID-19, monkeypox does not spread easily from person to person.. It requires direct contact with an animal carrying the disease, close contact with an infected person or "

Infections during the latest outbreak differ as there is a possibility that the virus is transmitted sexually. So, in the UK, four out of seven cases of the disease were recorded among gay, bisexual or other men who had sex with men.. Cases in Spain were also likely linked to similar transmission routes..

The disease also does not spread asymptomatically.. At the same time, there is little data on monkeypox, a new outbreak of the disease may tell more about it..

Symptoms of the disease.

Monkeypox belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox, but is less contagious. A sick person develops a fever, a characteristic rash and blisters, headache and muscle pain, swollen lymph nodes. As a rule, the disease goes away on its own, the symptoms disappear after a few days..

However, monkeypox can be severe, with a mortality rate of 1-15% in this case.. Most likely to have severe disease and death among children.

Which countries have already recorded cases of monkeypox infection.

At the moment, more than 60 cases of infection are known in different countries of the world.. So, the alleged monkeypox was registered in the USA, Canada, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Great Britain. On the morning of May 20, the Australian authorities said they were investigating a possible case of registration of the disease, the man fell ill after traveling to Europe.

Is there a risk of mass infection.

At the moment, the probability of infecting a large number of people is assessed as low.. However, although smallpox vaccines exist, no specific monkeypox vaccines have yet been developed.. Some scientists believe that the cessation of widespread smallpox vaccination may have weakened herd immunity against monkeypox, making subsequent infections more likely..

Scientists raise concerns that monkeypox in humans could fill a niche left open by the eradication of smallpox.