Answers About Mpox Virus
What is mpox, earlier named monkeypox?
Mpox, which is potentially becoming widespread, is caused by the mpox virus. This virus typically affects rodents, including rats or mice, or nonhuman primates, like monkeys. But humans, too, can be affected.
Mpox’s locations are in Central and West Africa. Cases in places other than Africa are often due to:
International travel.
Imported animals.
Close contact with an animal or person with mpox.
Since 2022, mpox cases have been reported in countries that rarely have mpox, like the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been monitoring cases reported around the globe, including Europe and the United States.
What are the symptoms associated with mpox, and what does mpox look like?
Mpox symptoms may be visible after 3 to 17 days of your exposure. The time between your exposure and when you experience the symptoms is called the incubation period.
Mpox symptoms may be experienced for 2 to 4 weeks and may include:
Fever.
Skin rash.
Swollen lymph nodes.
Headache.
Muscle aches and backaches.
Chills.
Tiredness.
The mumps rash starts to appear on the face, hands, or feet, gradually spreading to other parts of the body. However, in the earliest cases linked to the outbreak in 2022, the rash often began in the genital area, mouth, or throat. The mpox rash journeys through various stages. Flat spots develop into blisters. Then the blisters fill with pus, form a scab, and fall off in a time span of 2 to 4 weeks.