The disease may begin to pose a threat to humans if the number of infected people starts to grow. In this case, there is a high likelihood that the virus will mutate and begin to spread via airborne transmission. "The more people get sick, the faster the virus can make a genetic leap, leading to mutations, and thus monkeypox will become dangerous," warned epidemiologist Gennady Onishchenko, Vice President of the Russian Academy of Education and academician of RAS. Monkeypox is an infection caused by the monkeypox virus of the Orthopoxvirus genus. Symptoms include itchy blisters on the skin and mucous membranes, high fever, muscle pain, and swollen lymph nodes. The virus is transmitted from animals to humans and from human to human. The disease was first identified in 1958 in crab-eating macaques, whose skin showed eruptions similar to human smallpox. In fact, rodents (African striped and sun squirrels) are more common carriers of the virus. It is now difficult to determine who was infected first. Doctors advise maintaining personal hygiene, avoiding contact with infected individuals and wild animals, and thoroughly cooking meat. If you suspect you’ve contracted monkeypox or develop symptoms, seek medical attention immediately. On August 14, 2024, the WHO declared the monkeypox outbreak an international issue. The next day, Rospotrebnadzor clarified that there was no threat of the disease spreading in Russia. Officials emphasized that they are monitoring the situation and taking all necessary measures to detect new cases. However, Gennady Onishchenko warns that work on a vaccine should begin. According to the former chief sanitary doctor of Russia, the smallpox vaccine (also called "black smallpox") protects against monkeypox as well. However, after the disease was eradicated in 1980, vaccination was halted. Onishchenko noted that Russians born after that year have no immunity to monkeypox.