MBBS Student, Smt. Kashibai Navale Medical College and General Hospital, Pune; Corresponding Author.
Chest Physician, Vora Clinic.
J Assoc Physicians India. 2022 Jul;70(7):11-12. doi: 10.5005/japi-11001-0071.
Monkeypox was a zoonotic infection, first detected in parts of northern Africa in the 1970s. Monkeypoxvirus, the causative agent of monkeypox, is a species of genus Orthopoxvirus and is closely related to long-eradicated smallpox caused by variola virus. Outbreaks in the West (in USA, UK, and Ireland) along with periodic re-emergence of the disease in parts of Africa have generated concern among global health bodies due to the existent deficiency of guidelines for management of the disease. Genetic variations and altered mechanisms favoring better survival of the virus have made early identification of the disease during screening difficult, particularly in resource-limited settings like rural areas of Africa. Through evidences gathered from experimental studies conducted after these outbreaks, the virus is known to be transmitted from several animal reservoirs along with human-to-human contact of blood, body fluids, or aerosol. Early diagnosis through immunoassays and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, although not very specific, allows early treatment and subsequently better patient survival and recovery. Presence of lymphadenopathy along with fever, sore throat, and a vesiculopustular rash is diagnostic. The virus affects the gastrointestinal, hematological, ocular, and respiratory systems, in like manner producing afflictions of the specific system. Treatment, through experimental data, has been preferred to be symptomatic, with the aim to prevent superinfections. Antivirals like cidofovir and tecovirimat have been studied upon and used in clinical trials with favorable outcomes. Antiviral immunoglobulins have also been used with success in certain patients for postexposure prophylaxis.
猴痘是一种人畜共患传染病，于 20 世纪 70 年代在北非部分地区首次被发现。猴痘病毒是正痘病毒属的一种病原体，与早已根除的天花病毒引起的天花密切相关。由于缺乏针对该病的管理指南，西方（美国、英国和爱尔兰）的疫情爆发以及非洲部分地区该病的周期性再现，引起了全球卫生机构的关注。病毒遗传变异和有利于更好生存的机制变化，使得在资源有限的环境（如非洲农村地区）中，在筛查期间难以早期识别这种疾病。通过对这些疫情暴发后进行的实验研究收集的证据，已知该病毒通过几种动物宿主传播，同时还通过血液、体液或气溶胶进行人与人之间的接触传播。免疫测定和聚合酶链反应（PCR）等早期诊断虽然特异性不高，但可以进行早期治疗，从而提高患者的生存率和康复率。出现淋巴结病以及发热、喉咙痛和水疱脓疱疹是诊断的依据。该病毒会影响胃肠道、血液、眼部和呼吸系统，同样会对特定系统造成影响。通过实验数据，治疗方法倾向于对症治疗，目的是预防继发感染。已对西多福韦和特考韦瑞玛等抗病毒药物进行了研究，并在临床试验中取得了良好的效果。抗病毒免疫球蛋白也已成功用于某些患者的暴露后预防。
