Human monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV), a member of the genus Orthopoxvirus (family Poxviridae, subfamily Chordopoxvirinae), that occurs mostly in the rain forests of central and western Africa. People living in or near the forested areas may have indirect or low-level exposure, possibly leading to subclinical infection. However, the disease recently emerged in the United States in imported wild rodents from Africa. Monkeypox has a clinical presentation very similar to that of ordinary forms of smallpox, including flulike symptoms, fever, malaise, back pain, headache, and characteristic rash. Given this clinical spectrum, differential diagnosis to rule out smallpox is very important. Primary transmission believed to occur through direct contact with …show more content…
Smallpox outbreaks have occurred from time to time for thousands of years, but the disease is now eradicated after a successful worldwide vaccination program. The last naturally occurring case in the world was in Somalia in 1977. After the disease was eliminated from the world, routine vaccination against smallpox among the general public was stopped because it was no longer necessary for prevention. In 1970, when smallpox was nearly eradicated, a previously unrecognized orthopoxvirus named monkey pox was identified in humans. The first known human case occurred in the Equateur province of Zaire (now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) when a 9-year-old boy developed smallpox like illness, which was eventually confirmed as human monkey pox by the World Health Organization (Ladnyj et al., 1972). Retrospectively, similar cases occurring in 1970-1971 from the Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone were attributed to monkeypox