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CDC raises monkeypox alert level and recommends masks during travel
Monkeypox doesn’t spread as easily as common illnesses like COVID-19 or the flu. People can only catch monkeypox if they have close contact with someone who is infected - Center for Disease Control and Prevention

The Anews reported, citing the DPA, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised its monkeypox alert level on Monday (June 6) and recommended travelers wear masks while cautioning that it was not on the same level of concern as COVID-19.

Monkeypox presents as flu-like symptoms before patients develop a painful rash and lesions and swolen lymph nodes.

According to the World Health Organization, the incubation period between exposure and when symptoms first appear can be anywhere from five to 21 days.

The CDC said cases have been reported on every continent aside from Antartica.

An image created during an investigation into an outbreak of monkeypox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from 1996 to 1997, shows the hands of a patient with a rash due to monkeypox. (CDC Handout via REUTERS)

The CDC said: "Some cases were reported among men who have sex with men. Some cases were also reported in people who live in the same household as an infected person."

WHO warns summer festivals and parties could further spread monkeypox

Experts said a number of sexually transmitted infections present similar symptoms and the real number of infections could be higher.

The agency reported 31 confirmed cases in the U.S. as of Monday afternoon. The first reported cases in Washington, D.C., came on Sunday.

Source: anews