photo credit: Ryann Jochum
Monkeypox virus is a part of the same family of viruses that causes smallpox. Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease, which means it can be spread through animals and people. Monkeypox was discovered in 1958 but there has been a current rise of cases in Eastern and Central Africa according to the World Health Organization.
Some people learned about monkeypox through social media including Lydia Wendorf. Tik Tok videos have said that schools in the United States are closing because of monkeypox which is not true. There have been 99,518 confirmed cases of monkeypox in America according to the CDC which is not comparable to Covid’s affect of 776,007,137 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization.
“I have heard of monkeypox from social media but haven’t heard any professional viewpoints on it” Wendorf said.
Monkeypox was declared an emergency by the World health Organization because a strand of it spread to multiple African Countries where it hasn’t been seen before. Clade Ib is a strand of monkeypox and it has gained more attention than the others because of the data that suggests it spreads more rapidly.
“I don’t know how I feel about monkeypox being an emergency because I haven’t heard a lot about it on the news or from my parents so I don’t know why it’s becoming a big deal” Wendorf said.
Though monkeypox is getting a lot of traction, there are no cases documented. There are a small number of cases in America which is 32,063 according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Brendan Meyers has worked for the Department of Health as an analyst for many years although not answering in an official capacity he is knowledgeable about maneuvering health related topics.
“I do not know anyone that has contracted this virus” Meyers said.
Monkepox is likely to not affect people’s everyday life. The virus is spread through skin-to-skin contact and is not airborne, which makes it harder to obtain it.
“That virus is currently spreading and is a virus of concern according to the CDC. However, it is not life threatening to most and it is treatable” Meyers said. Monkeypox is a name of a virus that people have probably seen and heard of a lot recently. Although it is gaining popularity among social media it is definitely not a threat to people’s everyday life. Better ways to protect yourself from getting monkeypox is to get vaccinated, wash hands frequently and to avoid contact with people who have the virus.
