The viral disease monkeypox is spreading around the world. So far, there are more than 6,300 known cases in the U.S., almost entirely among gay and bisexual men.
New York, California, Illinois and some cities have declared states of emergency, following the World Health Organization’s own declaration of a global emergency.
The headlines are grim enough that you might be worried that monkeypox is like SARS or Covid: another virus that could disrupt or even threaten your life.
The good news is monkeypox is much less contagious and much less likely to be deadly than Covid. There are also vaccines and treatments originally developed for smallpox that work on monkeypox.