Introduction
Mpox (MPX), formerly known as Monkeypox, is a zoonosis caused by
the Mpox virus (MPXV), which belongs
to a genus of viruses called Orthopoxvirus, family Poxviridae [1,2].
MPXV has probably been infecting humans for a long time, but it was
first identified in laboratory monkeys imported from Singapore to
Denmark in 1958 (hence the name) and the first human case of MPX was
reported in a 9-month-old infant from the Democratic Republic of the
Congo in 1970 [3,4]. Since then, most cases have been reported from
rural rainforest regions of the Congo Basin, particularly in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo [5]. MPX was considered a rare
sporadic disease with a limited ability to spread between humans
[6]. However, the 2022 outbreak of the MPXV pandemic took the world
by storm. From May 6, 2022, the number of infections and deaths in
non-endemic countries was increasing dramatically [7]. On July 23,
2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared MPX a Public Health
Emergency of International Concern [8]. As of February 25, 2023, a
total of 110 countries have reported cases of MPX, with 86,127
laboratory-confirmed cases and 1,084 probable cases, including 97 deaths
[9] (Fig. 1).