- [Narrator] In May, a rare case of Monkeypox,
a virus closely related to Smallpox,
was diagnosed in the UK.
- That first UK case was from a traveler in Nigeria
is now thought to be unconnected to the wider outbreak,
but the UK went on quite quickly to report
many more cases.
- [Narrator] Today the UK has the globe's
highest Monkeypox case numbers,
and the virus has spread to more than 4500
confirmed or suspected cases across
at least 40 countries, including the US and Canada.
On Tuesday, the CDC said they're significantly
expanding Monkeypox vaccination efforts in the US.
The agency also said it is now recommending
the vaccines for people with presumed exposure
to the viral illness and not just confirmed exposure.
So, how serious is the Monkeypox outbreak?
And, should Americans be concerned
about contracting this virus?
Last month World Health Organization officials
said the expected Monkeypox cases to grow
and stressed the situation was containable.
- This is a containable situation,
particularly in the countries like
where we are seeing these outbreaks
that are happening across Europe,
in North America, as well.
- [Narrator] This month the WHO said
the Monkeypox doesn't, at this point,
constitute a global health emergency.
- Also, however, that they might revisit
that decision if the situation worsens,
for example, if there was evidence
that people were getting more severe disease
or if there was evidence that the virus
was spreading into more vulnerable groups
like children or people with weakened immune systems.
- [Narrator] In the US so far over 300 cases
have been confirmed across at least 27 states
and the District of Columbia.
- Textbook Monkeypox typically starts
with flu-like symptoms.
You've got a fever, headache, muscle ache,
backache, and a few days later
you get a rash normally starting
on the face and spreading out.
It's a little like Chickenpox.
It starts to see flat red marks
that become kind of pimple like.
But, in the current outbreak
there have been lots of case reports
of pretty different looking symptoms.
Some people are getting no rash.
Some people are getting very subtle rashes.
A lot of times people are seeing
a concentration of the rash in the genital area
rather than starting in the face.
- [Narrator] Scientists believe the main way
Monkeypox is spread is by close contact.
Previous research found that Monkeypox virus
particles spread over short distances
via respiratory droplets,
but it is unknown whether Monkeypox
can spread by tinier airborne particles
known as aerosols.
- So there are high levels of virus
in the, like the puss filled lesions
that the disease causes
and contact with that is thought to be
the main mode of spread.
Monkeypox is much less easily spread
than a virus that can be spread
easily through the air like COVID-19
would be an obvious example.
But, if you are in very close contact
with someone, then it is quite easy to catch.
- [Narrator] US health officials found
that Monkeypox cases are concentrated
in specific communities.
According to the CDC, at least some
of the US cases are people who identify as gay,
bi-sexual, or men who have sex with men.
- The virus can infect anyone regardless
of sexuality, but infectious disease experts
think that the virus is exposed in very close contact
between some members of this community to spread.
This is the first time since the HIV epidemic
of the 1980s that a newly emerging disease
has cropped up and is concentrated in this community.
One big difference between now and then is
that while public health authorities
were very slow to respond to the HIV epidemic,
this time they are making a lot of effort
to get the message out to any bi-sexual men.
They're doing things like handing out information
at Pride events.
They're sending push notifications
on dating apps like Grinder.
- [Narrator] Most cases of Monkeypox resolve
on their own without treatment.
However, there are some anti-viral drugs
and a vaccine that were developed for Smallpox
that also work against Monkeypox.
On Tuesday, Danish vaccine maker, Bavarian Nordic,
which is the only producer of a vaccine
licensed for Monkeypox, said it will meet demand.
- It's just like a traditional vaccine.
It builds your immune system.
It stimulates your immune system so you are
better prepared to fight the Monkeypox
you are infected with.
- [Narrator] Monkeypox was discovered
in lab monkeys in Denmark in 1958,
hence the monkey in Monkeypox.
That said, monkeys aren't thought to be
the main vector or carrier of the disease.
- Scientists aren't totally sure what species
is the main carrier, but it seems
to be very widely circulating among
certain rodents in the rain forests
of the Congo Basin in central Africa.
The first human case was discovered in 1970
in a nine year old boy in the democratic republic of Congo.
- [Narrator] In the current outbreak
about four and a half thousand people
have been confirmed with Monkeypox
in countries where the virus doesn't normally occur,
and none of those have died.
Thus far, there's only been one death in Nigeria.