All That We Need to Know About the Current and Past Outbreaks of Monkeypox: A Narrative Review

Monkeypox is a rare, zoonotic viral illness that was initially endemic mainly to Africa. The virus later spread to non-African countries and, in 2022, it exploded on a global scale, with an unprecedented number of cases. The rapid, multi-country transmission, primarily in men who have sex with men (MSM), and evolving clinical manifestations and demographic traits of the current outbreak have raised serious concerns among the international health community. An in-depth inquiry into the past and present outbreaks are required, especially when contrasting features are witnessed across countries and outbreaks. This narrative review aims to summarize the evolution in the epidemiology, clinical features, mode of transmission, and management protocol of human monkeypox infection (H-MPVX) over the decades. For a detailed characterization of the novelties associated with the current outbreak that would facilitate the accurate dissemination of information and policy-making, we performed a thorough literature search for MPVX infection on PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct, using appropriate keywords to choose relevant articles.