Monkeypox cases rising globally. What we know so far about it. Latest updates
Live MintMonkeypox cases rising globally: Health authorities said they may have found a third case of the monkeypox virus in the United States and are running tests on a patient in South Florida to confirm if the person has contracted the disease, which is staging a rare outbreak outside of Africa, news agency Reuters reported. Monkeypox, first discovered in 1958, is a viral infection of an Orthopoxvirus genus virus of the Poxviridae family and boasts of siblings such as variola virus which causes smallpox, vaccinia virus which is used in smallpox vaccination, and cowpox virus, said Dr. Rajesh Jaria, Consultant, Internal Medicine, P D Hinduja Hospital & Medical Research Centre, Khar. 7) On May 18, the US Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed a single case of monkeypox virus infection in an adult male with recent travel to Canada. 10) The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970 in Congo and though its natural reservoir remains unknown, African rodents and non-human primates like monkeys may harbor the virus and infect people.