Global health officials have sounded the alarm over rising cases in Europe and elsewhere of monkeypox, a type of viral infection more common to west and central Africa.
HOW DANGEROUS IS IT? The risk to the general public is low at this time, a U.S. public health official told reporters at a briefing on Friday. Monkeypox is a virus that can cause symptoms including fever, and aches and presents with a distinctive bumpy rash. It is related to smallpox, but is usually milder, particularly the West African strain of the virus that was identified in a U.S. case, which has a fatality rate of around 1%. Most people fully recover in two to four weeks, the official said.
