The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Friday knowing of more than 700 cases of monkeypox globally, including 21 in the United States, with research suggesting it is spreading in the country.
All patients are recovering or have already recovered and there are no fatal cases.
“We also have at least one case in the United States that is not travel-related and you don’t know how you got the infection,” said Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director of the CDC’s division of high-impact pathogens and pathologies.
Monkeypox is a rare, related disease, though less severe than smallpox, causing itching that spreads over the body, fever, chills, and aches, among other symptoms.
The disease is generally localized in West and Central Africa, some cases have been reported in Europe since May and the number of affected countries has been growing since then.
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