Monkeypox disease Studies on monkeypox in Central Africa, where people live in remote areas and are medically neglected, showed that the disease killed 1— 10% of infected people. Monkeypox is a disease caused by a virus in the same family as smallpox, but it's not as serious, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, monkeypox can kill up to 1 in 10 people who contract the disease, according to observations in Africa, according to the CDC. Monkeypox is a misnomer due to the fact that it was first discovered in 1958, when outbreaks of a smallpox-like disease occurred in monkeys bred for research.
While monkeys are susceptible to it, just like humans, they are not the source. The virus belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus, which includes variola virus, the cause of smallpox; vaccinia virus, which is used in smallpox vaccine; and bovine pox virus. Monkeypox is less contagious than smallpox and symptoms are milder. About 30% of patients with smallpox died, while the mortality rate from monkeypox in recent times is around 3 to 6%, according to the World Health Organization.
While monkeypox is rare and usually non-fatal, one version of the disease kills about 10% of infected people. It is believed that the currently circulating form of the virus is milder, with a mortality rate of less than 1%.
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