Commentary: Monkeypox is not our next pandemic, but it has lessons for us

Monkeypox is a viral disease, distantly related to its more deadly cousin, smallpox. So far this year, it has been found in dozens of countries not usually familiar with monkeypox, with about 113 cases in the United States, including 15 in Illinois.

First documented in people in Africa in 1970, monkeypox has likely been circulating in central and western Africa for decades. It earned its name because it was originally discovered in monkeys.

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