Most infections occur in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Monkeypox has occurred in people outside Africa related to international travel or imported animals, including cases in the United States, Israel, Singapore and the United Kingdom. Monkeypox is a jungle zoonosis with incidental human infections that usually occur in wooded parts of Central and West Africa. It is caused by the monkeypox virus, which belongs to the orthopoxvirus family.
Monkeypox can be transmitted by exposure to droplets through large exhaled droplets and by contact with infected skin lesions or contaminated materials. The incubation period for monkeypox is usually 6 to 13 days, but can range from 5 to 21 days. The disease is often self-limiting and symptoms usually resolve spontaneously within 14 to 21 days. The symptoms may be mild or severe, and the lesions may be very itchy or painful.
The reservoir of animals is still unknown, although it is likely to be among rodents. Contact with live and dead animals through hunting and the consumption of game or wild game meat are known risk factors. People usually get monkeypox from animals in West or Central Africa and import the virus to other countries. Person-to-person transmission is not common, as it requires close contact with bodily fluids, such as saliva from cough or pus from lesions.
Therefore, the risk to the general population is low, the United Kingdom, K.
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