Is monkeypox the next big pandemic? Are you at risk? Is it serious? Here's a roundup of what we know about the virus that's all over the mainstream media.

Monkeypox has been on the global radar since 2022. Just last week, the World Health Organization declared it an international public health emergency, setting the stage for…

I think we remember.

Part of this article is from research I did in 2022. Part of it is newer information from the current panic. That's why you'll see such a wide disparity in the links and there will also be some older comments.

Where did monkeypox start, and where are the current cases?

Monkeypox is not a brand new virus. It was initially discovered in 1958, in – you guessed it – colonies of monkeys. The first confirmed human case of monkeypox is documented as occurring in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to the CDC:

The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during a period of intensified effort to eliminate smallpox. Since then, monkeypox has been reported in people in several other central and western African countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, and Sierra Leone. The majority of infections are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (source)