When monkeypox was diagnosed for the first time in the U.S. in 2003, which statement is true?

When monkeypox was diagnosed for the first time in the U.S. in 2003, which statement is true?

• A. There were cases of person to person transmission.
• B. It was diagnosed in humans who had been in direct contact with infected animals.
• C. The disease was first diagnosed in a sick prairie dog by a veterinarian.
• D. Animals with monkeypox were isolated and treated until negative for the virus.

Answer: (B)

This question tests how monkeypox appeared in the United States in 2003 and how the initial human cases were linked. The outbreak in the U.S. came from animal-to-human transmission: imported African rodents infected prairie dogs, and people who handled or were in direct contact with these infected animals developed monkeypox. That makes the statement correct because it directly reflects how the first human cases were identified—through direct contact with infected animals. The outbreak was not primarily about sustained person-to-person spread, and the defining event was not a prairie dog diagnosed first by a veterinarian. Also, control focused on stopping exposure and handling infected animals rather than treating animals until they tested negative for the virus.

This question tests how monkeypox appeared in the United States in 2003 and how the initial human cases were linked. The outbreak in the U.S. came from animal-to-human transmission: imported African rodents infected prairie dogs, and people who handled or were in direct contact with these infected animals developed monkeypox. That makes the statement correct because it directly reflects how the first human cases were identified—through direct contact with infected animals.

The outbreak was not primarily about sustained person-to-person spread, and the defining event was not a prairie dog diagnosed first by a veterinarian. Also, control focused on stopping exposure and handling infected animals rather than treating animals until they tested negative for the virus.