National Food Safety Authority (NFSA), Aswan Branch, Aswan, Egypt.
Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Aswan Office, Aswan, Egypt.
J Med Virol. 2023 May;95(5):e28775. doi: 10.1002/jmv.28775.
Mpox is a viral zoonotic disease endemic in Central and West Africa that is caused by the Mpox virus, which belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus and Poxviridae family. The clinical manifestations of mpox infection are milder than those of smallpox, and the incubation time of mpox varies from 5 to 21 days. Since May 2022, the mpox outbreak (formerly known as monkeypox) has suddenly and unexpectedly spread in non-endemic countries, suggesting that there may have been some undetected transmissions. Based on molecular analysis, there are two major genetic clades that represent the mpox virus: Clade I (formerly the Congo Basin clade OR the Central African clade) and Clade II (formerly the West African clade). It is believed that people who are asymptomatic or paucisymptomatic may spread the mpox virus. Infectious viruses cannot be distinguished by PCR testing; therefore, virus culture should be carried out. Recent evidence regarding the detection of the mpox virus (Clade IIb) in air samples collected from the patient's environment during the 2022 mpox outbreak was reviewed. Further studies are needed to evaluate the extent to which the presence of mpox virus DNA in the air could affect immunocompromised patients in healthcare facilities, and further epidemiological studies are crucial, especially in Africa.
猴痘是一种在中非和西非流行的病毒性人畜共患病，由猴痘病毒引起，该病毒属于正痘病毒属和痘病毒科。猴痘感染的临床表现比天花轻，潜伏期为 5 至 21 天。自 2022 年 5 月以来，猴痘疫情（以前称为猴痘）在非流行国家突然意外传播，表明可能存在一些未被发现的传播。基于分子分析，有两个主要的遗传分支代表猴痘病毒：分支 I（以前称为刚果盆地分支或中非分支）和分支 II（以前称为西非分支）。无症状或轻症患者可能传播猴痘病毒。聚合酶链反应（PCR）检测无法区分传染性病毒；因此，应进行病毒培养。回顾了 2022 年猴痘疫情期间从患者环境中采集的空气样本中检测到的猴痘病毒（IIb 分支）的最新证据。需要进一步研究来评估空气中存在的猴痘病毒 DNA 会在多大程度上影响医疗机构中的免疫功能低下患者，进一步的流行病学研究至关重要，特别是在非洲。
