Monkeypox: What you should know as the disease spreads around the world

PHOENIX - On May 18, officials with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported the first case of monkeypox in the United States this year.News of the monkeypox case comes as health officials in a number of European countries report multiple cases of the disease.Here's what you should know about the rare disease.According to officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, monkeypox is caused by a virus that is in the same genus of viruses that causes smallpox.Monkeypox, according to the CDC, was first discovered in 1958, following two outbreaks of a pox-like disease in colonies of monkeys that were kept for research.The first human case of the disease was recorded in a country now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970, during a period of intensified effort to eliminate smallpox.

Since then, the disease has been reported in people in several central and western African countries. Cases have also been reported in the U.S., as well as a number of Asian, Middle Eastern, and European countries.According to CDC's website, it takes usually seven to 14 days from the time of infection for a person to start feeling symptoms of the disease, but the incubation period can also range from five to 21 days.The illness, according to the CDC, begins with:CDC officials say within one to three days after the appearance of fever, the person infected will develop a rash, often beginning on the face then spreading to other parts of the body.

The rash will eventually dry up and fall off.According to the World Health Organization, symptoms of monkeypox typically last two to four weeks.According to WHO, The fatality rate for monkeypox varies between zero and 11% in the general population.