Monkeypox Epidemic: A Throwback From Smallpox Eradication

Abstract

The emergence of microbial diseases has become a major concern for humans. In the recent past, we have noticed the emergence and re-emergence of several microbes that include coronaviruses (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus {SARS-CoV}, Middle-East respiratory syndrome coronavirus {MERS-CoV}, SARS-CoV-2), and others like Zika virus, Nipah virus, Influenza virus, and Ebola virus. These microbes have been noted to spill over from animals into humans. Several such microbes which were previously restricted to wild animals are now becoming responsible for infections in humans and have spread across the borders and resulted in pandemics. It has been more than two years since the discovery of the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and we are still struggling to cope-up with it and live normal lives. Recently, the monkeypox virus, which was confined to West and Central African countries, and caused endemic infections in monkeys and humans was associated with human infections in non-endemic regions like the United States of America (USA) and more than 30 other countries. Therefore, in this editorial, we attempt to put the spotlight on the monkeypox virus that is currently threatening to cause another widespread pandemic.

Keywords: emergence; humans; monkeypox virus; pandemic; wild animals.

Figure 1. The classification of the pox viruses and the position of monkeypox virus