The department believes that renaming the disease will make people less to blame in cases of infection of monkeys: after the global spread of the disease this year, there were cases when healthy monkeys in zoos and private kennels were destroyed en masse due to fear of infection.

Monkeypox is caused by a virus that is a relative of smallpox, but the disease is more easily transmitted.

The virus usually passes to humans from animals, monkeys were identified as the first carriers, but doctors emphasize that the main spreaders are rodents or contact with their feces.

Transmission of the virus from person to person is also possible.

Symptoms of the disease are fever and rashes on the skin.

The disease can be difficult, it can take more than a month to recover.

Fatalities are rare;

mainly people with weak immunity die.