Insights into the monkeypox virus: Making of another pandemic within the pandemic?

Abstract

Just when the world started to adapt to the ‘new normal’ amid the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID‐19) pandemic, the world is witnessing the wrath of another viral disease, the monkeypox virus (MPXV). The virus is endemic to African countries, where several outbreaks have been reported in the past. However, the present cases have been reported in non‐endemic countries worldwide. Although MPX is considered to be a self‐limiting disease, recent reports on its incidence have proved otherwise. The 2022 multi‐country MPX outbreak has drawn the attention of global surveillance organizations and epidemiologists to trace its origin; however, there are existing gaps regarding the animal reservoirs, biological implications, and management of MPX. In view of the recent events, the World Health Organization (WHO) has also declared the ongoing MPX outbreak a global health emergency. Hence, the geographically expanding MPXV poses a significant threat to human health and public safety. In this review, the latest insights into the biology of MPXV have been provided by discussing its biological implications on human health, changing epidemiological footprint, and presently available intervention strategies. This review also sheds light on the existing lacunas and possible reasons that may have been responsible for the ongoing MPX outbreak.

Current and Perspective Sensing Methods for Monkeypox Virus

“…MPXV, together with other orthopoxviruses, is a complex virus and has one of the largest viral genomes [ 14 ]. Under an electron microscope, MPXV and other poxviruses show a brick-shaped geometry [ 15 , 16 ]. The size range of the monkeypox virus is 200 to 250 nm [ 17 ].…”

“…The virion genome contains inverted tandem repeats, tandem repeats, open reading frames, and hairpin loops [ 19 ]. The MPXV genome has a conserved central genomic region harboring housekeeping genes, while variable regions on both termini are involved in virus pathogenesis [ 15 , 19 , 20 , 21 ].…”

Targeting Envelope Proteins of Poxviruses to Repurpose Phytochemicals against Monkeypox: An In Silico Investigation

“…The MPXV has been endemic to sub-Saharan countries for decades, but in mid-2022 (amid the COVID-19 pandemic), an unexpected surge in MPX infections was recorded globally (WHO, 2022). Multi-country outbreak of MPX was reported across several non-endemic countries, raising concern among clinicians and epidemiologists (Chadha et al, 2022b). With the increasing global caseload, the World Health Organization also declared the ongoing multi-country outbreak of MPX as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 23 rd July 2022.…”

“…MPX transmission has been strongly associated with animal bites, skin abrasions, prolonged or direct contact with bodily fluids of infected animals or humans, respiratory droplets, and contaminated inanimate objects (Ligon, 2004). However, the transmission of presently-circulating MPXV strains through sexual routes is still debated (Chadha et al, 2022b). The incubation period of MPXV ranges from 3-14 days, and the clinical manifestations are seldom mistaken for other viral infections like herpes simplex virus and chickenpox.…”

Computational Purposing Phytochemicals against Cysteine Protease of Monkeypox Virus: An In-silico Approach

“…That is why in 2022, when monkeypox broke out in various parts of the world, public health officials began to worry about the possibility of a new global pandemic. 15,16 In the cytoplasm of infected cells, MPXV employs several virally encoded proteins, including cysteine proteinase, to replicate, as is the case with other poxviruses. 17 In the life cycle of most viruses, proteases catalyze the cleavage of viral precursor polyproteins, playing a pivotal part in the process.…”