Mpox: An emerging or re-emerging infection with a potential colossal burden on healthcare globally

African Journal of Laboratory Medicine

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Mpox: An emerging or re-emerging infection with a potential colossal burden on healthcare globally
 
Creator Obi, Chikwelu L. Mkolo, Nqobile M. Mugivhisa, Liziwe L. Ogunrombi, Modupe O. Mphephu, Mukhethwa M. Naidoo, Clarissa M.
 
Subject Health;Virology;Infectious disease mpox; clades; antivirals; vaccines; laboratory diagnosis.
Description The World Health Organization identified mpox (formerly known as monkeypox), as a resurgent zoonotic epidemic caused by the mpox virus. It is an emerging and re-emerging pathogen with a range of hosts and geographical distribution worldwide. Peer-reviewed scientific articles from 1958 to 29 August 2024 related to global mpox research were extracted from Web of ScienceTM Core Collection and Google Scholar Databases to gauge the extent of the infection. Mpox is marked by a recent resurgence of infections across continents, with Africa being the hardest-hit region. The mpox re-emergence has shown a new mechanism of transmission, with several causes such as a rise in the number of unvaccinated individuals, behaviour risk factors, waning immunity, genetic evolution, and environmental circumstances. Preventive and control measures of mpox include vaccination and patient isolation, while treatment involves antivirals and antibiotics for secondary bacterial infections. Laboratory diagnosis entailing polymerase chain reaction can be effective for routine purposes, but results of serological tests must be interpreted with caution, because of cross-reacting determinants among orthopoxviruses. The structure and classification of the mpox virus, clinical manifestations, pathophysiology, epidemiology, historical antecedent, therapeutics, vaccines, and laboratory diagnosis of the disease are explicated, showcasing mpox as an emerging or re-emerging infection with a potential colossal burden on healthcare, and its classification as an international public health emergency by the World Health Organization.What this study adds: This review provides the global situation of mpox as an emerging or re-emerging infection, warranting its designation as an international public health emergency.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2025-05-31
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/ajlm.v14i1.2644
 
Source African Journal of Laboratory Medicine; Vol 14, No 1 (2025); 12 pages 2225-2010 2225-2002
 
Language eng
 
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https://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/2644/3154 https://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/2644/3155 https://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/2644/3156 https://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/2644/3158 https://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/2644/3157
 
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Rights Copyright (c) 2025 Chikwelu L. Obi, Nqobile M. Mkolo, Liziwe L. Mugivhisa, Modupe O. Ogunrombi, Mukhethwa M. Mphephu, Clarissa M. Naidoo https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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