[1][2] The first case of the virus was obtained from a colony of rhesus monkeys in Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria.

[4][5] These cutaneous histiocytomas may form on the face, palms, digits, forearm, surfaces of the nose, sinuses, lips, and palate.

[3][6] In rhesus monkeys the virus has a tendency to affect the face and sinuses causing large tumors to form.

[citation needed] The Yaba monkey tumor virus (YMTV) is considered a chordopoxvirus due to its ability to infect vertebrates and consists of linear double-stranded DNA.

[citation needed] The virus was first visualized after an outbreak of cutaneous histiocytomas in rhesus monkeys which were kept outdoors in 1956 Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria.