Monkeypox virus is a double-stranded DNA virus. It is a member of the Orthopoxvirus genus and the Poxviridae family. This family also includes variola virus, the causative agent of smallpox, as well as cowpox virus and vaccinia virus. Humans are generally not the primary host of any member of the Poxviridae family, although variola virus has been devastating to the human population (Likos et al., 2005). The first cases of human infections were reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970. Since 1970, over 400 cases of human infections have occurred in Central Africa. Monkeypox has also been reported in West Africa. The monkeypox strain isolated from West Africa, however, is less severe in terms of both morbidity and mortality. This means that the West African strain of monkeypox virus causes fewer deaths and is less likely to be transmitted from one human to another horizontally (Shchelkunov, 2013). In 2003, a monkeypox epidemic occurred in the United States. There were 37 cases of monkeypox reported in this outbreak, and all cases were linked to pet prairie dogs from West Africa. After this epidemic, there was a trade embargo on the importation of several West African rodent species, including the prairie dog, to prevent the occurrence of another epidemic like this one (Shchelkunov, 2013). The monkeypox virus genome is double-stranded DNA and is composed of approximately 196,858 base pairs. With these base pairs there are approximately 190 open reading frames. Most of the encoded genes allow the monkeypox virus to downregulate cellular immune responses. This generally occurs for cellular processes such as ion channels that allow cells to multicellular organs...... middle of paper ......and genus Orthopoxvirus. It is generally believed to be the parental virus of the modern genus, as it also contains all the genes that can be found in other species of this genus. Reductive evolution is believed to have occurred which caused the host range of some viruses, such as Variola virus, to narrow. This leads to a marked increase in both morbidity and mortality. The monkeypox virus is of particular concern because it can infect a wide range of water bodies in addition to humans. Since it has a longer genome than the Variola virus it is under surveillance. Furthermore, due to its similarities to the Variola virus, the Monkeypox virus has the potential to be used for bioterrorism. This could be potentially devastating, since the disease has a 10% mortality rate and the majority of the population is currently not vaccinated against this emerging disease (Shchelkunov, 2013).