A study in 1988 found that the smallpox vaccine was around 85% protective in preventing infection in close contacts and in lessening the severity of the disease. A newer smallpox and monkeypox vaccine based on modified vaccinia Ankara has been approved, but with limited availability. Other measures include regular hand washing and avoiding sick people and animals. Antiviral drugs, cidofovir and tecovirimat, vaccinia immune globulin and the smallpox vaccine may be used during outbreaks. The illness is usually mild and most of those infected will recover within a few weeks without treatment. Estimates of the risk of death vary from 1% to 10%, although few deaths as a consequence of monkeypox have been recorded since 2017.Several species of mammals are suspected to act as a natural reservoir of the virus. Although it was once thought to be uncommon in humans, the quantity and severity of outbreaks has significantly increased since the 1980s, possibly as a result of waning immunity since the stopping of routine smallpox vaccination. The first cases in humans were found in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). There have been sporadic cases  in Central and West Africa, and it is endemic in the DRC. The 2022 monkeypox outbreak represents the first incidence of widespread community transmission outside of Africa, which was initially identified in the United Kingdom in May 2022, with subsequent cases confirmed in at least 74 countries in all continents except Antarctica.
Rabbits and rodents typically present with fever, cough, runny nose, sore eyes and swollen glands. They develop small bumps that fill with yellow fluid and may have patches of hair loss and pneumonia. Spread among animals occurs via the fecal-oral route and through the nose, through wounds and eating infected meat. Death is more likely in baby monkeys. The CDC recommend that animals exposed to monkeypox be quarantined for six weeks. Causes
Monkeypox in both humans and animals is caused by infection with the monkeypox virus – a double-stranded DNA virus in the genus Orthopoxvirus, family Poxviridae. The virus was first identified in captive monkeys and is found mainly in tropical rainforest regions of Central and West Africa. The two subtypes of virus are clade I and clade II (formerly Congo Basin and West African clades, matching the geographical areas).In addition to monkeys, the virus has been identified in Gambian pouched rats (Cricetomys gambianus), dormice (Graphiurus spp.) and African squirrels (Heliosciurus, and Funisciurus). The use of these animals as food may be an important source of transmission to humans. Transmission
Humans can be infected by an animal via a bite or scratch, bush meat preparation, or by contact with an infected animal’s bodily fluids or lesion material. The virus is thought to enter the body through broken skin, the respiratory tract, or the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, or mouth.Once a human is infected, transmission to other humans is common, with family members and hospital staff at particularly high risk of infection.