Coloured transmission electron micrograph (TEM) of mpox (previously monkeypox) virus particles (round) within an infected cultured cell (blue). Mpox particles are composed of a DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) genome surrounded by a protein coat and lipid envelope (orange). In humans it causes fever, fatigue, body aches, swollen glands and a rash of fluid-filled blisters. It is capable of human to human transmission through direct contact with infectious skin or other lesions and indirect contact through contaminated objects. The mpox virus was first discovered in 1958 in two outbreaks of a pox-like disease among colonies of research monkeys, though small mammals such as rodents are believed to be the natural hosts. The first human case was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and it is endemic in central and western Africa.