Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. Mpox can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, fever, headache, muscle ache, back pain and low energy. Most people recover fully, but some can become very ill.
There are two distinct clades of the virus: clade I, with subclades Ia and Ib, and clade II, with subclades IIa and IIb. A global outbreak of clade IIb in 2022-23 was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization. In August 2024 WHO declared a second public health emergency over an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Mpox symptoms typically begin within a week, but can start one to 21 days after exposure. Symptoms usually last two to four weeks but may be longer for those with weakened immune systems.
Common symptoms include:
The rash often starts on the face and spreads across the body, including to the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. It can also start on other areas of the body where contact was made, such as the genitals.
Mpox can be more dangerous for certain groups, including children, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems, such as people living with HIV. In these cases, there is a higher risk of serious illness and death.
Some possible complications include:
The case fatality rate ranging from 0 to 11 per cent depending on the clade, with children most at risk of death.
Mpox mainly spreads from person to person through close contact. This can include skin-to-skin contact, such as touching or sex, mouth-to-mouth or mouth-to-skin contact, such as kissing, and being face to-ace with someone who has mpox. People with multiple sexual partners are at higher risk of acquiring the disease. The virus can also be spread through contaminated objects and can be passed by mothers to their unborn baby.
Animal-to-human transmission can occur through bites or scratches from infected animals, or during activities such as hunting, skinning, or eating infected animals.
Treatment for mpox mainly involves supportive care to manage symptoms, such as pain and fever. It is important to pay close attention to nutrition, hydration, skin care, prevention of secondary infections, and treatment of co-infections. Some antivirals have received emergency use authorisation, although there is no proven effective antiviral treatment for mpox.
Mpox virus is similar to smallpox so a smallpox vaccine is offered to people most at risk of the disease such as health workers, those with multiple partners and men who have sex with men. One dose offers good protection, although two doses are recommended
Other preventive measures for those infected include:
The monkeypox virus was first discovered in 1958 in monkeys kept for research in Denmark. The first human case was in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mpox is closely related to smallpox and after the eradication of smallpox in 1980 and the ending of routine vaccination, mpox emerged in central, east and west Africa as the population no longer had immunity. In 2003, an outbreak in the United States was linked to imported wild animals. Since 2005 thousands of cases of the virus have occurred every year in DRC.
In May 2022, a global outbreak of mpox began, primarily affecting men who have sex with men. The WHO declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern in July 2022 and again in August 2024 due to a surge in cases in Africa. As of July 2025 122 countries have reported cases – including 115 countries which had never seen the disease. During the 2022-23 outbreak there were more than 4,700 cases in the UK.
During the 2022 outbreak WHO recommended the phasing out of the term monkeypox after it received reports of “racist and stigmatising language online.”
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