We’ve seen this claim floating around on social media in the wake of the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring mpox (monkeypox) a global public health emergency on August 14. These posts claim that Singapore was the original source of monkeypox – and that monkeypox was named after monkeys from Singapore.
How much truth is there to this claim? According to our research, the first isolated and recorded instance of mpox was in 1958 by Danish researchers who kept a colony of monkeys in their lab for unrelated research purposes. Based on the original paper and subsequent articles on the virus, it is true that the monkeys were imported to Denmark from Singapore.[1] 
However, while the Danish researchers were the first to isolate and name “monkeypox” – it is highly unlikely that those specific monkeys were the first occurrence of the virus. The researchers also were not able to determine whether the monkeys were infected prior to or after arriving at the Danish lab – symptoms were only observed 51 and 62 days after the monkeys arrived. The first human case of mpox was only recorded over a decade later in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo with very few similar occurrences until a large outbreak emerged in 2017.
As other articles on mpox also point out, the actual source of the virus is not known. Instead, mpox has been most commonly observed in the rainforests of Africa and the virus’ natural hosts are believed by experts to be small rodents in Central and West Africa despite its moniker.
Therefore, while it is true that monkeypox was named after being observed in monkeys imported from Singapore, there is no evidence that the virus originated in Singapore. It would be inaccurate to say that Singapore was the “original source” of monkeypox.
We give this claim a rating of somewhat true.
While Singapore’s involvement is a “fun fact,” it is also necessary to get a full picture of the context to avoid any misinformation from being spread – and to avoid sensationalising details about the virus as it remains a very present public health concern.
[1] Until and even after the Wildlife Act of 1965, wildlife trade in Singapore, which had begun during the colonial period, was very active. The monkeys exported to Denmark were long-tailed macaque monkeys which are native to Southeast Asia – although the specific origin of the monkeys is not known.
