The never-ending global emergence of viral zoonoses after COVID-19? The rising concern of monkeypox in Europe, North America and beyond

Emergence of monkeypox: Risk assessment and containment measures

“…Scientific studies are now underway to assess the feasibility and appropriateness of vaccination for the prevention and control of monkeypox. Some countries have or are developing the policies to offer the vaccine to persons who may be at risks such as the laboratory personnel, rapid response teams, and health workers [ [2] , [3] , [4] , [5] ].…”

“…Smallpox vaccines and an antiviral medication that is regarded to be particularly effective against the virus are available in countries like the United States as a preventive safeguard against bioterrorism. To prevent the spread of monkeypox, healthcare workers would most likely use a “ring vaccination strategy”, in which the close relatives of people who have been diagnosed with the disease are vaccinated [ [2] , [3] , [4] , [5] ].…”

Monkeypox outbreaks during COVID-19 pandemic: are we looking at an independent phenomenon or an overlapping pandemic?

“…In addition, the interaction between both viruses could facilitate emergence of a new variant of concern (VOC) of SARS-CoV-2 with features that could further impact the current pandemic management strategies, such as increased capability for immune evasion or escape, and burden the health care system as a whole. Nevertheless, the rise in the number of cases of monkeypox is a global concern that needs to be addressed by research and studies [ 11 ].…”

Is monkeypox another reemerging viral zoonosis with many animal hosts yet to be defined?

“…Again, the world is witnessing a disease caused by a member of an old group of viruses that may go into the spillover from animal species to humans (Bezerra-Santos et al 2021 ). In 2022, the monkeypox virus (MPXV), an Orthopoxvirus (family Poxviridae), is causing a multi-country outbreak in almost all the continents outside Africa, which has been endemic since its discovery in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (León-Figueroa et al 2022 ).…”