Mpox is a disease caused by infection with Monkeypox virus. Mpox is endemic in forested areas of Central and West Africa.
Both clades of mpox can be spread, treated, and prevented the same way, but affected populations and geographic spread can be very different.
People in recent outbreaks usually get mpox through intimate or close contact, including sex or massage, with an infected person. Mpox can also be transmitted through contact with the skin lesions or bodily fluids of infected wild animals (alive or dead in endemic areas) or humans through contact with materials contaminated with the virus such as bedding, clothing, and dishes.
Symptoms often include fever (≥100.4°F), rash, headache, muscle aches, and swollen lymph nodes. Fever is not always present.
There is a vaccine available for mpox for those with certain risk factors.