A new health emergency : monkeypox outbreak
Abstract
Monkeypox, caused by a double-stranded DNA Orthopox virus has recently increased in non-endemic countries outside of Africa. At the time of this writing, 80,850 cases have been reported globally and 29,248 cases in the USA. Endemic countries have also experienced a recent increase in monkeypox cases. In 2003, during an outbreak of monkeypox in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin, 47 cases happened due to contact with prairie dogs. Before 2022, community transmission of monkeypox did not happen outside of Africa, as most cases occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In addition to the geographic difference between the current and previous monkeypox outbreaks, there are also significant demographic differences. Most recent outbreaks in West and Central Africa have affected individuals of all ages, while early outbreaks mainly affected children. According to the currently available data, 99% of U.S. monkeypox cases occurred in men. The current outbreak of monkeypox is predominantly affecting gay, bisexual men, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM).
Part of
Citation
AJHM Volume 7 Issue 1 (Jan-March 2023)
Rights
OpenAccess.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License.