Passport Health logo
Vaccinations|Find a Travel Clinic|Advice
  • Home
    • About
        • Company History
        • Careers
        • Executive Team
        • Contact Us
        • Customer Feedback
        • FAQ
        • Mission Statement
        • Privacy Policy
        • Blog
    • Close
  • Destination Advice
    • Top Destinations
        • Brazil
        • China
        • Costa Rica
        • India
        • Kenya
        • Peru
        • Philippines
        • South Africa
        • Thailand
        • Vietnam
    • Destination Advice
        • Tips and recommendations for healthy travel to any destination:

          • Afghanistan
          • Albania
          • Algeria
          • American Samoa
          • Andorra
          • Angola
          • Anguilla
          • Antarctica
          • Antigua and Barbuda
          • Argentina
          • Armenia
          • Aruba
          • Australia
          • Austria
          • Azerbaijan
          • Azores
          • Bahamas
          • Bahrain
          • Balearics
          • Bangladesh
          • Barbados
          • Belarus
          • Belgium
          • Belize
          • Benin
          • Bhutan
          • Bolivia
          • Bonaire
          • Bora Bora
          • Bosnia
          • Botswana
          • Brazil
          • British Virgin Islands
          • Brunei
          • Bulgaria
          • Burkina Faso
          • Burma
          • Burundi
          • Cambodia
          • Cameroon
          • Canada
          • Canary Islands
          • Cape Verde
          • Cayman Islands
          • Central African Republic
          • Chad
          • Chile
          • China
          • Christmas Island
          • Cocos (Keeling) Islands
          • Colombia
          • Comoros
          • Cook Islands
          • Costa Rica
          • Cote d'Ivoire
          • Croatia
          • Cuba
          • Curacao
          • Cyprus
          • Czechia
          • Democratic Republic of the Congo
          • Denmark
          • Djibouti
          • Dominica
          • Dominican Republic
          • East Timor
          • Easter Island
          • Ecuador
          • Egypt
          • El Salvador
          • Equatorial Guinea
          • Eritrea
          • Estonia
          • Ethiopia
          • Falkland Islands
          • Faroe Islands
          • Fiji
          • Finland
          • France
          • French Guiana
          • French Polynesia
          • Gabon
          • Gambia
          • Georgia
          • Germany
          • Ghana
          • Gibraltar
          • Greece
          • Greenland
          • Grenada
          • Guadeloupe
          • Guam
          • Guatemala
          • Guinea-Bissau
          • Guinea
          • Guyana
          • Haiti
          • Hawaii
          • Honduras
          • Hong Kong
          • Hungary
          • Ibiza
          • Iceland
          • India
          • Indonesia
          • Iran
          • Iraq
          • Ireland
          • Israel
          • Italy
          • Jamaica
          • Japan
          • Jordan
          • Kazakhstan
          • Kenya
          • Kiribati
          • Kosovo
          • Kuwait
          • Kyrgyzstan
          • Laos
          • Latvia
          • Lebanon
          • Lesotho
          • Liberia
          • Libya
          • Liechtenstein
          • Lithuania
          • Luxembourg
          • Macau
          • Macedonia
          • Madagascar
          • Madeira Islands
          • Malawi
          • Malaysia
          • Maldives
          • Mali
          • Malta
          • Marshall Islands
          • Martinique
          • Mauritania
          • Mauritius
          • Mayotte
          • Mexico
          • Micronesia
          • Moldova
          • Monaco
          • Mongolia
          • Montenegro
          • Montserrat
          • Morocco
          • Mozambique
          • Namibia
          • Nauru
          • Nepal
          • Netherlands
          • New Caledonia
          • New Zealand
          • Nicaragua
          • Niger
          • Nigeria
          • Niue
          • Norfolk Island
          • North Korea
          • Northern Mariana Islands
          • Norway
          • Oman
          • Pakistan
          • Palau
          • Palestinian Territories
          • Panama
          • Papua New Guinea
          • Paraguay
          • Peru
          • Philippines
          • Pitcairn Islands
          • Poland
          • Portugal
          • Puerto Rico
          • Qatar
          • Republic of the Congo
          • Réunion
          • Romania
          • Russia
          • Rwanda
          • Saba
          • St. Barthelemy
          • Saint Helena
          • St. Kitts and Nevis
          • St. Lucia
          • Saint Martin
          • St. Pierre-et-Miquelon
          • St. Vincent and the Grenadines
          • Samoa
          • San Marino
          • Sao Tome and Principe
          • Saudi Arabia
          • Senegal
          • Serbia
          • Seychelles
          • Sierra Leone
          • Singapore
          • Sint Eustatius
          • Slovakia
          • Slovenia
          • Solomon Islands
          • Somalia
          • South Africa
          • South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
          • South Korea
          • South Sudan
          • Spain
          • Sri Lanka
          • Sudan
          • Suriname
          • Swaziland
          • Sweden
          • Switzerland
          • Syria
          • Tahiti
          • Taiwan
          • Tajikistan
          • Tanzania
          • Thailand
          • Togo
          • Tokelau
          • Tonga
          • Trinidad and Tobago
          • Tunisia
          • Turkey
          • Turkmenistan
          • Turks and Caicos Islands
          • Tuvalu
          • U.S. Virgin Islands
          • Uganda
          • Ukraine
          • United Arab Emirates
          • United Kingdom
          • United States
          • Uruguay
          • Uzbekistan
          • Vanuatu
          • Vatican
          • Venezuela
          • Vietnam
          • Wake Island
          • Western Sahara
          • Yemen
          • Zambia
          • Zimbabwe
    • Close
  • Travel Medicine
    • Travel Medical Services
        • Vaccines for Travel
        • Travel Health Consulting
        • Travellers’ Diarrhea Kits
        • Dengue Fever Prevention
        • Malaria Medication
        • Chikungunya Prevention
        • Zika Virus Prevention
        • Ebola Virus
        • Coronavirus
        • Travel Health Alerts
    • Additional Travel Services
      • Physician Referral Program
    • Close
  • Vaccinations
    • Overview
        • Chickenpox
        • Cholera (Dukoral)
        • Hepatitis A
        • Hepatitis B
        • Hep A/Typhoid Combo (Vivaxim)
        • Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
        • Japanese Encephalitis
        • Malaria Information
        • Measles – Mumps – Rubella (MMR)
        • Meningitis
        • Pneumonia
        • Polio
        • Rabies
        • Shingles
        • Tetanus-Diphtheria-Pertussis
        • Typhoid
        • Yellow Fever
        • Drug Identification Numbers (DIN)
    • Influenza (The Flu)
        • Learn more about your flu vaccine options
          • For most individuals
          • For seniors over 65 years
    • Routine Tests
      • TB Tests
      • Routine Vaccinations
        • Overview
    • Close
  • Employer Solutions
    • Overview
      • Travel Medicine & Vaccinations
      • Onsite Flu Clinics
      • Retirement Community Flu Program
      • Onsite Vaccination Clinics
      • Biometric Screenings
      • Vaccine Credentialing
    • Close
  • Locations
        • Ontario

          Barrie Travel Clinic

          Brampton Travel Clinic

          Carlington - Ottawa Travel Clinic

          Kitchener Travel Clinic

          London Travel Clinic

          Markham Travel Clinic

          Oakville Travel Clinic

          Richmond Hill Travel Clinic

          St. Catharines Travel Clinic

          Toronto Travel Clinic

          Whitby Travel Clinic

          Yorkville Travel Clinic

        • Alberta

          Chinook - Calgary Travel Clinic

          Downtown Edmonton Travel Clinic

        • British Columbia

          Burnaby Travel Clinic

          Downtown Vancouver Travel Clinic

          North Vancouver Travel Clinic

        • Quebec

          Downtown Montreal Travel Clinic

          Laval Travel Clinic

          Québec City Travel Clinic

          Westmount Travel Clinic

    • Close

What is Monkeypox?

November 14, 2017 By Caitlin Hartwyk

It may get less attention than similar diseases, but monkeypox poses problems in Africa.

You’ve heard of chickenpox and smallpox, but what about monkeypox?

Monkeypox is a rare viral disease, similar to smallpox but considerably milder.

Surprisingly, it’s not a new discovery as you may have suspected.

The first known animal outbreak of the disease occurred in Denmark in 1958 with groups of research monkeys, which is where monkeypox gets its name. Today, infection is often spread by rodents. Transmission from person to person is possible but more unusual.

Monkeypox is relatively rare in humans but could be fatal. The main symptoms are lesions, fever, and a rash, and there currently is no cure.

According to The Washington Post, monkeypox kills “up to 1 in 10 of its victims” and “is particularly dangerous to children.” People living closer to forested areas, where infected animals might be present, are also more likely for infection.

The first reported human case of monkepox was with a young boy in 1970 in the Congo. Small outbreaks have developed since then in: the Congo from 1996 to 1997, Midwestern United States in 2003, Sudan in 2005, the Congo again in 2009, and the Central African Republic in 2016. The disease is currently focused in central and western African countries according to the CDC. Ten countries in Africa have had to deal with monkeypox since 1970.

The World Health Organization reports that the incubation period for monkeypox can range from five to 21 days, although most cases will only last for 1-2 weeks.

There are typically two phases of the infection, the invasion period and the skin eruption period.

The invasion period deals with symptoms that are common for a cold or flu. This includes fever, headache, muscle ache, lack of energy and swelling of the lymph nodes. This phase usually lasts for up to five days.

The skin eruption period deals with some expected pox signs on the skin.

Patients experience a rash which starts with the face and spreads over the body, particularly on the soles of the feet and palms. The rash then changes to form lesions. These will develop into small blisters filled with fluid, then pustules, then crusts, and finally it goes away. This phase typically starts one to three days after a fever and can take weeks before the crusts disappear.

Even with decades of history around the world, there’s no vaccine for monkeypox.

The smallpox vaccine does show some promise in defending against monkeypox. People who received the vaccine in the past are more likely to develop milder symptoms if infected. The smallpox vaccine even earned an approximate 85 percent success rate in preventing monkeypox.

If you are traveling to a potentially infected region, be careful against contact with patients. Animal carrier such as Gambian rats, striped mice, dormice, primates, rope squirrels, and tree squirrels also pose a risk.

Beyond rodents, larger animals can spread monkeypox. Prairie dogs were the cause of the United States’ outbreak in 2003.

Though monkeypox cases can be rare they are still fatal for about 1-10 percent of infections.

Even with a name like monkeypox, the disease is still very similar to other common infections. Smallpox, chickenpox, measles, scabies and allergies all present many of the same symptoms. A laboratory test is the only way to confirm that a disease is monkeypox.

Monkeypox is currently still a mystery in the world of medicine, but the CDC might soon have more answers. Scientists and other experts from around the world are currently studying suspected cases of the illness in the Congo.

Have you or someone you know had monkeypox? Are there any questions you have about the disease and its dangers? Let us know in the comments, or via Facebook and Twitter.

Written for Passport Health by Katherine Meikle. Katherine is a freelance writer and proud first-generation British-American living in Florida, where she was born and raised. She has a passion for travel and a love of writing, which go hand-in-hand.

Filed Under: General Posts

About Us

Passport Health's blog provides travelers and travel enthusiasts with a variety of news and features. We focus on bringing the most interesting and relevant stories right to our readers. Topics range from the vaccines needed for a destination to updates on recent outbreaks, travel advice and much more. Feel free to check out some of our most popular posts, linked in the sidebar, or our most recent posts below
Stay Updated! Sign up to receive email updates from our blog.

Recent Blog Posts

  • How Does Measles Spread? A New Study Gives Answers
  • The Necessary and Unfortunate Identity of “Patient Zero”
  • What Was The Plague of Justinian? How A Single Outbreak Killed 10% Of The World’s Population.
  • Tips To Stay Safe While Traveling Alone

Blog Archives

  • About Us
  • Clinical Trials
  • Contact Us
  • PIPEDA Policy and Consent Form
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Sitemap
Schedule Your Appointment:
Questions? Please call or E-mail Us

Connect With Us:

Passport Health Canada on Facebook
Passport Health on Twitter
Passport Health on YouTube
Passport Health on Instagram
Passport Health on Linked In
Passport Health Feed

Passport Health is an Outlier business Passport Health es una empresa que pertenece al grupo OutlierPassport Health est une entreprise du groupe Outlier Copyright © 2021

This website or its third-party tools use cookies to improve functionality and performance. By continuing to browse this site, you are consenting to the use of cookies illustrated in our cookie policy.Accept