Monkeypox isn't like COVID-19 — and that's a good thing
The recent headlines about a sudden emergence of an unusual disease, spreading case by case across countries and continents may, for some, evoke memories of early 2020.
But monkeypox is no COVID-19 — in a good way.
Health officials worldwide have turned their attention to , a virus normally found in central and west Africa that has appeared across Europe and the U.S. in recent weeks — even in people who have not traveled to Africa at all.
But experts say that, while it's important for public health officials to be on the lookout for monkeypox, the virus is extremely unlikely to spin out into an uncontrolled worldwide pandemic in the same way that COVID-19 did.
For starters, monkeypox spreads much less easily than COVID-19. Scientists have been studying monkeypox since it was first discovered in humans more than 50 years ago. And its similarities to smallpox mean it can be combated in many of the same ways.
As a result, scientists are already familiar with how monkeypox spreads, how it presents, and how to treat and contain it — giving health authorities a much bigger head start on containing it.
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