• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as many as 85,765 confirmed and 1,382 probable cases of mpox (monkeypox) were reported from 110 countries since 1st January, 2022.
• The United States was the most affected, recording 29,948 confirmed cases.
• WHO assessed the global risk as ‘Moderate’ and also announced that it would prefer to refer to the disease as mpox rather than monkeypox.

About Monkeypox

• Monkeypox is a zoonotic viral disease with symptoms similar to smallpox but is less contagious.
• It was first diagnosed in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa.
• Vaccines used to eradicate smallpox provide protection against mpox.
  • New vaccines against the disease have also been developed and approved.