Monkeypox may present with unusual symptoms, CDC warns - Livescience.com

Doctors diagnosing monkeypox should be on the lookout for symptoms that don't quite match the typical descriptions of the disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned (opens in new tab) June 14.

The monkeypox virus belongs to the same family and genus as the virus that causes smallpox and triggers similar, but milder, symptoms, according to the CDC (opens in new tab).

In some cases, patients' rashes have either been "scattered or localized to a specific body site," apart from the face and extremities, the CDC noted.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, said at a briefing, according to NBC News (opens in new tab).

In general, symptoms of monkeypox infections can resemble those caused by the Varicella zoster  virus, which causes chickenpox, and they can also look like certain sexually transmitted infections, such as syphilis and herpes, the CDC noted.

As of June 24, just over 4,100 monkeypox cases have been detected in 47 countries and territories, according to the CDC (opens in new tab); this global case count, which is subject to change, includes both confirmed monkeypox infections and infections attributed to an Orthopoxvirus — the genus of viruses that includes monkeypox. 

Nicoletta Lanese is a staff writer for Live Science covering health and medicine, along with an assortment of biology, animal, environment and climate stories

Her work has appeared in The Scientist Magazine, Science News, The San Jose Mercury News and Mongabay, among other outlets

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