Monkeypox Outbreak: Check Symptoms, Prevention As India Records 4 Cases

Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus, which belongs to the same family of viruses that causes smallpox.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has sounded its highest level of alert for monkeypox and declared the virus as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).

Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus, which belongs to the same family of viruses that causes smallpox. The disease is endemic in regions like West and Central Africa but lately, cases have been reported from non-endemic countries too, according to the WHO.In India, a 34-year-old man from Delhi with no history of foreign travel tested positive for monkeypox on Sunday, taking the country's tally of cases to four. Three cases of monkeypox were earlier reported in Kerala.

How the monkeypox virus spreads?

Monkeypox can be transmitted to humans through a person or animal who is infected by the virus. It can also spread through material contaminated by the virus. One can contract monkeypox by coming in close contact with the body fluids, lesions, respiratory droplets, and materials like the bedding of the infected person.