Monkeypox was first discovered in 1958 with the first cases of it in the US being in 1970, with a most recent severe outbreak in 2022. While the virus is currently not known where it originates, it is believed that African rodents and nonhuman primates could be a possible culprit according to the CDC, while not seemingly applying to the human race, nor the United states, the hop from animal to human has made it a quick spreading disease.

Monkeypox is a current threat to the United States, especially with higher cases and outbreak status by the CDC, and should be taken seriously as an outbreak. 

 A common misconception that this disease is based purely in sexual contact and can only spread among people is allowing the disease to spread across the United States in a non-endemic country. There are multiple other ways that the disease does spread besides sexual contact. Close contact can become a major way to spread, from someone with monkeypox touching you to just touching objects that have been contaminated with monkeypox. These ways are the major ways to get Monkeypox, with people contaminating and spreading it without knowing that they have the disease. This is a major problem with preventing and fighting the disease across the US as it is hard to detect and can lay undercover until it strikes. With better understanding and understanding of the spreading and the dismal of this misconception, better protection against the disease can be taken. 

 Another realization that is missed is how monkeypox looks and how to identify it. Inability to identify the disease on the carrier’s own has come from the different ways that Monkeypox can form from rashes to flu-like symptoms. This inability to detect has allowed Monkeypox to easily spread as it can lay low in a certain way and sneak its way to infection. This has allowed many countries that don’t usually have high cases of Monkeypox to spike in cases due to spreading covertly and quickly, making non-endemic countries that are in closed spaces consistently and around a lot of people highly susceptible to Monkeypox. Offices, public parks, restaurants, and especially schools are becoming major spreaders of Monkeypox due to the quantity of people and consistent contact between people. Although this does seem obvious, it can quickly and unexpectedly become a problem from just one person, so it must be restated and thought about to be properly protected from Monkeypox just like many other diseases.

 While it is commonly believed that the disease is not so serious and that it can’t spread too far in the US, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The CDC have confirmed around fourteen thousand cases in the US, with one thousand being in Texas alone. Dallas has had the most confirmed cases within Texas, but Houston has had around one hundred and seventy seven confirmed cases, and while there has only been one case of confirmed Monkeypox in Montgomery county there are major chances that it can spread out quickly even from one case. Monkey pox spreading heavily out from major cities could shut Texas down for a small amount of time, among other things such as the major thunderstorms looming, but taking Monkeypox seriously could prevent Texas from getting set back. 

The seriousness of Monkeypox has not been fully grasped by the public, but should be taken seriously by not just the United States but by the global community. Slowly the public is taking Monkeypox and many other new outbreaks more seriously as we understand and more information comes out about the virus we can slowly prevent and make sure that this doesn’t become a pandemic 2.0.