Understanding the pathogenesis, clinical, laboratory diagnosis and treatment of the recent monkeypox virus outbreak

Abstract

Human mpox is a zoonotic disease, caused by the mpox virus (MPXV), that can spread either between animals and humans or humans and humans. In 1970 the first human case of mpox was reported in Zaire, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Other notable human mpox outbreaks in non-endemic countries were identified in June 2003 in the United States, in July 2021 in Dallas (USA), and the most recent one in May 2022 in Europe in the United Kingdom (UK). During the 2022 outbreak, sexual intercourse was observed to be the most prevalent transmission method, although other means should not be ignored, such as the involvement of respiratory droplets, exposure to surfaces and skin suspected of contamination. In the context of the current mpox outbreak, we consider it important and necessary to correctly identify the virus, use the proper laboratory testing for a correct diagnosis of mpox, understand the means of prophylaxis, and apply the correct treatment, highlighting these facts being the aim of this study.