HOUSTON — Why has a case of monkeypox popped up in the U.S.?
The rare virus has been confirmed in the United States far from where monkeypox usually infects people.
Officials in Europe have reported more than a dozen cases so far this month, and they are investigating dozens more.
In the United Kingdom, doctors have discovered monkeypox cases that appear not to be linked to travel, meaning the virus in spreading throughout the community.
According to the Washington Post, reports of community spread are significant because the virus is not known to spread easily between humans.
The virus is mostly found in central and west Africa and was first discovered in monkeys in the 1950s. It can spread through contact with animals, contact with monkeypox sores and respiratory droplets.
The good news is while monkeypox can be deadly, killing one in 10 people infected, the version currently going around is much milder, with only about a one percent fatality rate.
Most patients will experience body aches, fatigue and fever. In more serious cases rashes and bumps develop on the face, spreading to other parts.
And while this virus is pretty rare in the U.S., it has been reported here before with an outbreak in 2003.