Monkeypox: How you can protect yourself from the virus and what to do if you have symptoms

The number of confirmed cases of the monkeypox, a virus related to smallpox that is typically limited to Africa, is growing - particularly in Europe and North America, which has prompted the WHO on Saturday to declare a global health emergency over the outbreak.

The virus which is less deadly than smallpox typically lasts for two to four weeks and symptoms can appear anywhere from five to 21 days after infection.

Although health professionals across the globe stress the risk to the general population is low, it is important to know how monkeypox spreads and what you can do to protect yourself from infection.

Typically, monkeypox is known to spread to people who have had contact with infected animals. This could be following a bite, scratch or consuming uncooked animal meat.

Monkeypox can also spread from human to human. Although this was originally thought of as rare, the recent and unusual rapid rise of infections outside of the west and central Africa has raised concerns.

It is typically spread between people in three ways: inhaling respiratory droplets; directly touching an infected person; and, less often, through indirect contact – such as through clothes or linen that have been in contact with fluid from sores.

Respiratory transmission involves large droplets that don’t linger in the air or travel far. As a result, person-to-person spread typically requires prolonged, intimate contact.

Monkeypox is also spread through close personal contact, like skin-to-skin contact or kissing.

The virus is generally not considered a sexually transmitted infection and it is not known to be spread through semen during intercourse.

However, “it can be transmitted during sexual and intimate contact”, Dr John Brooks, an epidemiologist with the