Monkeypox
| Monkeypox | |
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| Human monkeypox lesions | |
| Classification and external resources | |
| ICD-10 | B04 |
| ICD-9-CM | 059.01 |
| Monkeypox virus | |
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| Virus classification | |
| Group: | Group I (dsDNA) |
| Order: | Unassigned |
| Family: | Poxviridae |
| Subfamily: | Chordopoxvirinae |
| Genus: | Orthopoxvirus |
| Type species | |
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Vaccinia virus |
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| Species | |
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Monkeypox virus |
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Monkeypox is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. The disease was first identified in laboratory monkeys, hence its name, but in its natural state it seems to infect rodents more often than primates. The disease is indigenous to Central and West Africa. An outbreak that occurred in the United States in 2003 was traced to a pet store where imported Gambian pouched rats were sold.
Monkeypox virus is a zoonotic viral disease that occurs primarily in remote villages of Central and West Africa in proximity to tropical rainforests where there is more frequent contact with infected animals. Monkeypox is usually transmitted to humans from rodents, pets, and primates through contact with the animal's blood or through a bite. Human monkeypox can be difficult to distinguish clinically from smallpox (to which it is closely related) and chickenpox (to which it is not).
Monkeypox virus
In addition to monkeys, reservoirs for the virus are found in Gambian pouched rats (Cricetomys gambianus), dormice (Graphiurus sp.) and African squirrels (Heliosciurus, and Funisciurus). The use of these animals as food may be an important source of transmission to humans.
Monkeypox as a disease in humans was first associated with an illness in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), in the town of Basankusu, Équateur Province, in 1970. A second outbreak of human illness was identified in DRC/Zaire in 1996–1997. In 2003, a small outbreak of human monkeypox in the United States occurred among owners of pet prairie dogs. The outbreak originated from Villa Park, Illinois, outside of Chicago, when an exotic animal dealer kept young prairie dogs in close proximity to an infected Gambian pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus) recently imported from Accra, Ghana. Seventy-one people were reportedly infected, of which there were no fatalities.
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