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... Mpox is the name of the disease caused by Orthopoxvirus monkeypox, a relative of smallpox and cowpox that has exploded to global prominence in recent years. In 2022 and 2024, the spread of mpox caused the World Health Organization to declare international public health emergencies.

Amid the attention, health officials became acutely aware of the problematic name.

The name came about because scientists discovered the virus in captive Asian monkeys that had been shipped to Denmark from Singapore in 1958. It was assumed that monkeys were the natural hosts for the virus, but the assumption hasn't held up over time.

The initial human cases were identified in the 1970s in West and Central Africa, and subsequent studies and outbreaks found that the virus can infect a broad range of animals. To date, scientists are still uncertain about what animal or animals are the natural carriers of the virus, but the evidence so far points to African rodents, particularly squirrels -- not monkeys. ...