• (mpox, monkeypox) A viral disease infecting PRIMATES and RODENTS. Its clinical presentation in humans is similar to SMALLPOX including FEVER; HEADACHE; COUGH; and a painful RASH. It is caused by MONKEYPOX VIRUS and is usually transmitted to humans through BITES or via contact with an animal's BLOOD. Interhuman transmission is relatively low (significantly less than smallpox).
  NLM Medical Subject Headings
  U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
• An infection that is caused by an Orthopoxvirus, which is transmitted by primates or rodents, and which is characterized by a prodromal syndrome of fever, chills, headache, myalgia, and lymphedema; initial symptoms are followed by a generalized papular rash that typically progresses from vesiculation through crusting over the course of two weeks.
  NCI
  U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
• Monkeypox, a rare disease, is caused by the monkeypox virus, which is structurally related to the smallpox virus and causes similar, but usually milder illness.
  Merck Manuals
  Merck & Co., Inc., 2025
• Monkeypox, a rare disease, is caused by the monkeypox virus, which is structurally related to the smallpox virus and causes similar, but usually milder illness.
  Merck Manuals
  Merck & Co., Inc., 2025
• In 1970, when smallpox was nearly eradicated, a previously unrecognized orthopoxvirus named monkeypox was identified in humans. The first known human case occurred in the Equateur province of Zaire (now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC]) when a 9-year-old boy developed a smallpoxlike illness, which was eventually confirmed...
  Medscape
  WebMD, 2025
• Monkeypox, viral disease of both animals and humans that causes symptoms similar to those of smallpox, though less severe. It is transmitted by the monkeypox virus, a member of the same virus family that causes smallpox and cowpox. Monkeypox was first identified in laboratory monkeys in 1958. The...
  Encyclopedia Britannica
  Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2025