The current emergence of monkeypox: The recurrence of another smallpox?

Tianyu Lu; Zongzhen Wu; Shibo Jiang; Lu Lu; Huan Liu

doi:10.1016/j.bsheal.2022.09.004

The current emergence of monkeypox: The recurrence of another smallpox?

Biosaf Health. 2022 Dec;4(6):369-375. doi: 10.1016/j.bsheal.2022.09.004. Epub 2022 Sep 17.

Authors

Tianyu Lu¹, Zongzhen Wu², Shibo Jiang¹, Lu Lu¹, Huan Liu^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology (MOE/NHC/CAMS), Shanghai Institute of Infectious Disease and Biosecurity, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Pathogenic Microbes and Infection, Fudan University, Shanghai 200030, China.
² University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan 430072, China.

Abstract

Since its first confirmation in London on 12 May 2022, many monkeypox cases have been reported worldwide. Noticeably, the epidemiology, pathology, and clinical features of the current emergence have been compared to those of smallpox, a severe contagious disease historically epidemic worldwide for nearly 3,000 years. However, some characteristics of the present outbreak differed from those of previous monkeypox outbreaks. Herein, we ask if this emergence of monkeypox could cause another global pandemic similar to smallpox or influenza or if it is only the re-emergence of a new strain. To address these questions, we reviewed its virology, transmission, clinical characteristics, experimental diagnosis, and prevention and intervention, giving our commentary along the way.

Keywords: Biosafety; Clinical characteristics; Drugs; Epidemiology; Monkeypox; Vaccine.

Publication types

Review