Monkeypox: An Emerging Public Health Threat

Abstract

In last three decades, more than 30 new infectious agents have been detected worldwide and out of
which more than 60% have been found to be zoonotic in origin. Monkeypox disease is an infectious zoonotic
disease caused by the monkeypox virus belonging to the Orthopoxvirus genus of the Poxviridae family.
Human monkeypox was first identified in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in a 9month-old
boy
in
a
region
where
smallpox
had
been
eliminated
in
1968.
First
outbreak
of
human
monkeypox

outside

Central and Western African region was detected in 2003 in United States of America which was
linked to contact with the infected pet prairie dog. The latest Monkeypox outbreak in non-endemic countries
started from May 2022 and have been reported from 89 member states across all six WHO regions. India
reported first case of Monkeypox on 14

th
July 2022.