Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
This Perspective discusses the basic biology, evolution and transmission of poxviruses, in particular monkeypox virus, and how this can help predict and manage potential future outbreaks.