It usually takes between five to 21 days for the first symptoms to appear, If someone gets infected with monkeypox. Monkeypox typically begins with a flu-like illness. The disease is a relative of smallpox, causing a rash that often begins on the face, according to the UK's NHS website. Since then monkeypox has been reported in humans in other central and western African countries.
The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo during a period of intensified effort to eliminate smallpox.
It was first discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research, hence the name ‘monkeypox.’ Monkeypox is a rare, usually mild infection, typically caught from infected wild animals in parts of Africa. According to reports, the first case of the rare virus was confirmed in a man from Massachusetts who had recently travelled to Canada. However, research and debate continue over whether monkeypox is a sexually-transmitted disease.Įven as the world is recovering from the Covid -19 pandemic, the emergence of the new and potentially dangerous virus has caused flutters in the medical community.