Since then, several confirmed cases of monkeypox have been reported to the WHO in 33 members states that are not endemic to the MPXV. On, the UK Health Security Agency confirmed a case of monkeypox that had a travel history from Nigeria other cases were reported to have not left the UK or been in contact with confirmed cases. However, a retrospective study conducted in the UK between August 2018 and September 2021 revealed 11 cases of monkeypox, among which three acquired the virus in the UK: one had the virus nosocomially and two others were infected from household contact ( Table 1). From September 2018 to November 2021, 11 cases of monkeypox were diagnosed in four non-African countries: one case was reported in Israel in 2018, which originated from Nigeria another case in Singapore in 2019 and two cases in the USA (July 2021, Texas November 2021, Maryland). Subsequently, other travel-associated cases were reported in other countries. The first case of monkeypox outside Africa was reported in 2003 in the USA, an outbreak of 47 confirmed or probable cases following exposure to animals imported from Ghana. In 2017, there was also a large outbreak in Nigeria, a country that has not reported a case of monkeypox over the past 39 years ( Table 1).ĭRC: Democratic Republic of Congo * ** *** ****.

Since the 2010s, the number of cases has continued to increase in Africa, more precisely in the DRC, reaching other countries including Gabon and South Sudan. A total of 48 cases were identified in six countries: the DRC with the most cases, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. described for the first time several suspected or confirmed cases reported from 1970 to 1980 in different African countries. Subsequently, several endemics have been reported in the African continent, typically in the western and central regions. The first infected case was reported in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in a 9-month-old baby boy. Monkeypox (or mpox, the new preferred term used by WHO) is a disease caused by Orthopoxvirus, which also includes the smallpox virus. History, Epidemiology, and Pathogenesis of Monkeypox The preventive measures that were already reported in previous outbreaks will ultimately be applied to limit and control the spread of infection.Ģ. It also aimed to present the modalities of diagnosis and confirmation of the monkeypox virus (MPXV) and the different treatments used and confirmed in the literature. This brief review of the literature aimed to report the history and evolution of the epidemiology of human monkeypox and the different clinical manifestations, especially cutaneous manifestations, already reported in other studies, to facilitate and improve detection of this disease.

Even in other countries, no evidence of international travel associated with infection has been found, and direct chains of transmission have not been established.

Since then, several other cases have been confirmed in the UK without any link being established, either with the first case or between subsequent cases. However, in the current outbreak, only the first case, reported on 7 May in the UK, was observed from a traveler returning from Nigeria.

In addition to the large number of cases, the particularity of this outbreak lies in the mode of transmission: The cases already reported outside the African continent were related to either the return from a trip to an endemic country or the importation of infected animals. Indeed, to date, on 17 December 2022, the spread is considered much more global, with more than 103 non-endemic countries reached and over 81,500 cases reported. As the number of confirmed cases in the early months exceeded the total number of cases reported outside the African continent since the first case in 1970, healthcare workers and concerned organizations must remain vigilant about this infectious disease. Nevertheless, the risk is moderate, as this is the first time that several cases of monkeypox have been reported in endemic and nonendemic regions. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) consider monkeypox as an important disease for global public health. The number remains not extremely alarming, despite the spread of the virus outside the African continent, given that, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, for the same period, the number of cases was much higher (11 March 2020, 7500 cases). In one month, 1472 cases from 33 member states were documented. From early May 2022, hundreds of cases of monkeypox, a zoonotic disease endemic to Africa, have been reported in several non-endemic countries. As a result, the world has become vigilant and attentive to any outbreak. The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a global health, economic, and political crisis.

Monkeypox outbreak 2021