MONKEYPOX Poxviruses that infect humans range from life-threatening smallpox virus to the very contagious but benign molluscum contagiosum virus. Beginning in May 2022, hundreds of cases related to another poxvirus, monkeypox, have been reported from more than 30 countries around the world, including the US. Monkeypox virus was first isolated in 1958 from monkeys at the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, Denmark—thus its name; however, the natural host of monkeypox virus also includes rope squirrels, tree squirrels, Gambian pouched rats, and dormice. As with many zoonoses, this poxvirus is transmitted incidentally to humans when they encounter infected animals. The first known human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Satyendra Dhar MD, @DharSaty #monkeypox #Poxviruses
