Monkeypox A neglected infection becomes re-emerging global challenge

Monkeypox (MPX) was first discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research. Despite being named “monkeypox”, the source of the disease is still unknown. However, African rodents and some primates may harbor the virus and infect people. In humans, the first case was described in 1970 in a 9-year-old child in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), nine months after the eradication of smallpox in that country. This was followed by sporadic cases reported from the rainforest areas of central and western Africa. The outbreaks were enrolled mainly in the DRC, where the disease is currently considered endemic. Outside Africa, the first MPX outbreak with 81 human cases was reported in the United States (US) in 2003 after close contact with predominantly prairie dogs. In September 2018, three individual patients in the United Kingdom (UK) were diagnosed with MPX; two had recently travelled to Nigeria, and the third case was a healthcare worker caring for one of the cases. In 2018-2019 in Israel, Singapore and UK the sporadic cases of imported MPX from Nigeria reported.