Around 15,000 cases of monkeypox infections have been reported across the globe so far while India has reported four cases – three from Kerala and one from Delhi.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported 5 deaths due to the disease, all in Africa.

While the first instance of monkeypox was discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970, cases remained confined largely to African nations in the following years. Global attention was turned on the disease only in 2003, when cases were reported in the US, and after an outbreak in Nigeria in 2017-18, the disease spread to other parts of the globe.

However, before the present outbreak, cases had not been seen at this scale outside of the countries in which it was considered endemic.

What is monkeypox? How is it transmitted? What are the symptoms, cures and vaccines available today? What is responsible for its recent spread?

To get the answers to these questions and more, The Wire's Yaqut Ali spoke to epidemiologist Dr. Chandrakant Lahariya, in the video below.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.