Monkeypox: Is it our Fault?

The shock and awe of Covid-19 is still very much with us - the world has experienced first-hand the devastating effects of an out-of-control viral pandemic. Just as we are getting our arms around COVID-19, we find ourselves in the midst of a new threat - the monkey poxvirus. Monkey pox is a known quantity to the scientific community and has been for more than 60 years. Mostly relegated to the tropical rainforests of Central and West Africa; this zoonotic disease has largely been ignored in Europe and the Americas until just recently. Cases of the monkey pox infection first appeared sporadically among gay and bisexual men. Europe first reported cases in mid-2022. Shortly thereafter, the United States saw its first cases in large metropolitan areas such as New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Monkey pox infections are transmitted through close personal contact with infected individuals. The World Health Organization has declared monkey pox a “Public health emergency of international concern”. Monkey pox is genetically similar to smallpox. Although no treatment for the monkey poxvirus exists, antivirals and vaccines developed for smallpox have proven effective against monkey pox. Because of its similarity to smallpox, individuals infected with monkey pox demonstrate attenuated symptoms (i.e. fever, chills, muscle aches, sore throat and cough) as compared to those infected with smallpox. After a 3-week incubation period, monkey pox goes away on its own in approximately 2-5 weeks. Diagnostic testing and disease confirmation is performed via RT-PCR testing of genetic material from the infected areas and through the presence of lymphadenopathy (i.e. enlarged lymph nodes). This overview serves as a point of discussion of the aforementioned areas and provides commentary on understanding methods of prevention and containment of the disease. In summary, the power of viral spread causing global pandemics is not to be ignored or neglected - and much more research is to be conducted