随着对2019年冠状病毒病(COVID-19)大流行的恐惧消退,全球各国现在都在应对围绕猴痘病例在各个地区流行的流行病的恐惧。以前是非洲地区特有的,与2022年疫情相关的大多数猴痘病例在欧洲和西半球的国家都有报道。虽然各种组织正在开展接触者追踪项目,目前还不清楚这次疫情是如何开始的。猴痘病毒是许多人畜共患病毒之一,属于痘病毒科的正痘病毒属。猴痘病例在20世纪70年代受到全球关注,在全球根除天花之后。天花疫苗提供了对猴痘病毒的交叉免疫。停止天花疫苗施用后,猴痘病例变得更加普遍。直到2003年美国爆发,猴痘才真正获得全球关注。尽管病毒被命名为猴痘,猴子不是病毒的起源。几种啮齿动物和小型哺乳动物被认为是病毒的来源;然而,目前还不清楚猴痘的真正起源是什么。猴痘这个名字是由于病毒感染首次在猕猴中出现。虽然猴痘的人传人非常罕见,它通常归因于呼吸道飞沫或与受感染个体的皮肤粘膜病变的直接接触。目前,没有为感染者分配治疗,然而,可以给予支持性治疗以缓解个体的症状;在非常严重的情况下可以给予诸如tecovirimat的药物。这些治疗是主观的,因为没有确切的症状缓解指南。
As the fear of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic subsides, countries around the globe are now dealing with a fear of the epidemic surrounding the prevalence of monkeypox cases in various regions. Previously endemic to regions of Africa, the majority of monkeypox cases associated with the 2022 outbreak are being noted in countries around Europe and in the western hemisphere. While contact-tracing projects are being conducted by various organizations, it is unknown how this outbreak began. Monkeypox virus is one of the many zoonotic viruses that belong to the Orthopoxvirus genus of the Poxviridae family. Monkeypox cases received global attention during the 1970s, after the global eradication of smallpox. The smallpox vaccine provided cross-immunity to the monkeypox virus. Upon the cessation of smallpox vaccine administration, monkeypox cases became more prevalent. It was not until the 2003 US outbreak that monkeypox truly gained global attention. Despite the virus being named monkeypox, monkeys are not the origin of the virus. Several rodents and small mammals have been attributed as the source of the virus; however, it is unknown what the true origin of monkeypox is. The name monkeypox is due to the viral infection being first witnessed in macaque monkeys. Though human-to-human transmission of monkeypox is very rare, it is commonly attributed to respiratory droplets or direct contact with mucocutaneous lesions of an infected individual. Currently, there is no treatment allocated for infected individuals, however, supportive treatments can be administered to provide symptom relief to individuals; Medications such as tecovirimat may be administered in very severe cases. These treatments are subjective, as there are no exact guidelines for symptom relief.