The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The CDC says that monkeypox was first discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in monkeys kept for research, hence the name 'monkeypox.' RELATED: African scientists baffled by monkeypox cases in Europe, USĭespite monkeypox not being familiar to most Americans, it is not a new disease. Recent monkeypox cases have drawn added scrutiny because it appears that people who have not traveled to Africa have been diagnosed with the virus.Įxperts continue to stress that the risk to the general population is low.
There are now two presumptive cases of monkeypox in South Florida, which has local residents paying more attention to a disease that is rarely seen outside of Africa.
