Human Monkeypox: An Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Viral Disease

The monkeypox is an emerging and re-emerging zoonosis that causes sporadic human infections in Central and West Africa's forested areas.Monkeypox virus, a member of the Orthopoxvirus family, is the etiological agent of disease.Monkeypox virus was discovered in the laboratory monkeys in 1958 at the State Serum Institute in Copenhagen, and the first human case of monkeypox virus was recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970.African rodents serve as the reservoir of the monkeypox virus.The respiratory, percutaneous, and permucosal exposures to infected monkeys, zoo animals, prairie dogs, and humans are the most common exposure routes of infection for human beings.The incubation period of the disease is 6 to 13 days, although it can take anywhere from 5 to 21 days.Most patients have a typical prodromal illness with fever, malaise, and lymphadenopathy for 2 days before the rash appears.The rashes mainly occur on the face, palms of the hands and soles of the feet.Maximum cases are observed in the persons who had direct contact with animals.If the characteristic skin lesions are present, and there is a history of exposure, monkeypox can be predicted.Laboratory culture, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy are the tools available for confirming the diagnosis.The prognosis of the disease in immunocompromised patients is poor.While working with nonhuman primates or other animals, care should be taken to treat and cover breaks in the skin as a routine preventive strategy.During interaction with monkeypox-affected animals, infection control techniques, such as proper hygiene, frequent hand washing, disinfection of surfaces and equipment, and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) are critical.