The twist that could make monkeypox a serious problem

Even as the coronavirus pandemic continues to kill hundreds of Americans every day, monkeypox, a viral disease that can cause severe flu-like symptoms and a distinctive and unsightly papule all over the patient’s face and body, has arrived. The first case of monkeypox in the US this year was in a man in Massachusetts who was recently in Canada and New York City investigate a possible case on Thursday.

So far, that’s no cause for concern. Although endemic or traditionally found in West Africa, this is certainly not the virus’ first visit to American shores, even since the COVID-19 crisis began. And it is by no means a new virus. However, if monkeypox is now spreading fairly easily from person to person, as some early evidence suggests, that would be an unwelcome turn of events.

“Previous exports of this disease rarely resulted in human-to-human transmission,” said Henry Wu, an associate professor in the infectious diseases program at Emory University School of Medicine with a focus on travel medicine. “Clearly, I think there is local transmission occurring in these non-endemic areas at levels we have never seen in previous outbreaks.”

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https://www.thedailybeast.com/monkeypox-could-be-a-serious-problem-thanks-to-this-twist?source=articles&via=rss The twist that could make monkeypox a serious problem