Monkey Pox 2022: Evolving Epidemiological Dynamics of Disease

Monkey pox is a rare zoonotic disease belonging to the Orthopoxvirus genus[1] and is closely related to smallpox and cowpox viruses.[2] A varied array of animal species, which include monkeys, squirrels, and mice act as a natural reservoir for the disease.[4] There is known animal-to-human, as well as secondary human-to-human transmission which mainly occur through direct contact, mucous membranes, and respiratory droplets. Secondary transmission can also occur from close contact with bodily fluids, contaminated linens, and even sexual contact.[5] Monkey pox 2022 is quite different from previous outbreaks. There is an unusually higher number of cases involving different countries[Figure 1]. Secondly, there is a lack of travel history to Endemic countries in Africa. Thirdly, the cases are hundreds of miles from each other with a lack of clear-cut contact identification and tracking which signifies the iceberg phenomenon of the disease with concern about under-reporting and testing. Still, only ray of hope is that the virus is thought to have a single origin, the genetic data suggests, and is a likely descendant of the strain involved in the 2017–2018 monkeypox outbreak in Nigeria,[6] which has low case fatality.Figure 1: Monkeypox confirmed cases[ 3 ]Present cases from United Kingdom reveals majority of cases are homosexual/ bisexual.[7] Even from Europe most of the cases are from homosexual/ bisexual which signifies the sexual transmission as predominant mode of transmission of the Monkeypox2022. Amid rising trend of cases of Monkeypox, World health organization has reconsidered emergency meeting about declaring the disease as Public health emergency. Robust public health surveillance and control measures are vital to address this threat. Another concerned area to explore are susceptibility among certain groups like in pregnant women, Paediatric age group and maternal to child transmission. Health policy makers need to urgently explore the vaccination strategy and capacity building about existing smallpox vaccine effective for Monkeypox especially among high-risk groups like Men sex with men and bisexual. Public health officials/policymakers must provide health education-related guidelines to the community and health care workers about prevention and modes of transmission, including risk communication strategy to avoid unnecessary panic in the community. Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest.