Monkeypox: a review of the 2022 outbreak

Area of Science:

• Virology
• Epidemiology
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• The 2022 multi-country outbreak of monkeypox (a zoonotic orthopoxvirus) in non-endemic regions prompted global health concern.
• This outbreak presented with clinical characteristics that differ from historical observations of the disease.

Approach:

• A literature review was conducted using PubMed to synthesize information on monkeypox.
• The review covers virology, epidemiology, transmission, incubation, infection control, and clinical presentations of past and current outbreaks.

Key Points:

• The current monkeypox outbreak exhibits variations in clinical presentation compared to previous outbreaks, necessitating further investigation.
• A notable aspect of the current outbreak is the increased number of patients co-infected with HIV and monkeypox, offering insights into disease presentation in this cohort.
• The observed milder symptoms in HIV-co-infected patients may be linked to well-controlled HIV, though more data is required.

Conclusions:

• Existing treatment and vaccination strategies for monkeypox are primarily based on data from other orthopoxviruses.
• There is a critical need for more research to establish the safety and efficacy of current interventions specifically for monkeypox infections.