Mpox is a rare disease caused by the mpox virus. The mpox virus belongs to the same family of viruses that causes smallpox. While mpox symptoms are similar to smallpox symptoms, they are less severe, and mpox is rarely fatal.
Mpox can cause a rash that looks like pimples or blisters. The rash may be painful or itchy, and it may occur on or near the genitals or anus. It may also appear on other body parts, like the hands, feet, chest, face, and mouth.
Additional symptoms of mpox can include the following:
Fever
Headache
Muscle aches and backache
Swollen lymph nodes
Chills
Exhaustion
Respiratory symptoms, such as coughing, nasal congestion, and sore throat
Mpox symptoms usually appear within three weeks of exposure to the virus. The illness typically lasts two to four weeks. Some people get a rash first, followed by other symptoms, while others get flu-like symptoms first and then develop a rash one to four days later. Still others get only a rash and no other symptoms.
In 2022, there was an outbreak in several countries that don’t usually report mpox, including the United States.
Mpox can spread during close, personal, often skin-to-skin contact with a person who has the infection. This can happen during direct contact with the mpox rash, scabs, or body fluids, or contact with respiratory secretions. Direct contact can happen during intimate physical contact, including oral, anal, and vaginal sex and touching the genitals or anus of a person infected with mpox. It can also occur during hugging, massaging, kissing, and any type of face-to-face contact.
You can also get mpox by touching fabrics (such as clothing, bedding, and towels) that have been used by an infected person and touching objects used during sex that were used by any infected person, such as fetish gear or sex toys.
Additionally, you can get mpox from infected animals, either by being scratched or bitten by the animal, preparing or eating the meat, or using products from the infected animal. Pregnant women can spread mpox to their fetuses.
Mpox can spread from the onset of symptoms until the rash has fully healed and a new layer of skin has formed. This can take several weeks; sexual contact and intimacy should be avoided during this time. It is not known whether mpox can spread through semen or vaginal fluids.
The CDC recommends vaccination for people who have been exposed to mpox, as well as people who have an increased risk of being exposed to mpox:
People who have been identified as a contact of a person who has mpox
People who may have been exposed to mpox, such as people who have a sexual partner who has been diagnosed with mpox in the past two weeks or people who had multiple sexual partners in the past two weeks in an area with a known mpox outbreak
People whose jobs may expose them to mpox
Antiviral drugs and vaccines developed to protect against smallpox may be used to prevent and treat mpox infections.
How to Reduce Your Risk of Getting an STD
The only way to altogether avoid STDs, including herpes, is not to have vaginal, anal, or oral sex. If you are sexually active, you can reduce your risk by being in a long-term, mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested for STDs, and by using condoms correctly every time you have sex.
If you have any symptoms of genital herpes or any other STD, see your doctor or go to a sexual health clinic. Your doctor will know what tests to give you to detect any STDs you may have. And if you’re sexually active, get screened regularly and always practice safe sex.
