The recent spread of monkeypox has been causing many concerns for people around the world. Travelers are being warned by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to practice serious precautions due to the outbreak.

The monkeypox virus is a viral illness that falls under the same family as smallpox. The United States is one out of the 16 different countries that have seen cases of the virus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) states that the “monkeypox virus is transmitted from one person to another by close contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding.”

Monkeypox has been relevant in Central and Western Africa for decades, and it is believed to have jumped occasionally from animals such as rodents, to people. 

The recent issue is that the transmission of the virus between humans has not been seen before.

There are a few precautions that the CDC recommends travelers to take, including the following:

• Avoid close contact with any sick people 
• Avoid any contact with dead or alive animals, such as rodents and non-human primates such as monkeys and apes
• Eating or preparing products that come from wild animals from Africa, including creams, powders and lotions

Monkeypox is not a very easily transmissible virus, but it should not be disregarded, as the symptoms of the virus can be very dangerous.