EPIDEMIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF MONKEYPOX VIRUS INFECTION

Abstract

The year 2022 was marked by a worldwide increase in the number of cases of infections by the monkeypox virus, being considered the greatest spread of this virus outside the African continent at all times. Full understanding of the significant increase in the number of monkeypox cases is still challenging, as it encompasses several clinical manifestations and particularities that make the correct diagnosis and adequate treatment difficult, increasing the potential for transmission of the virus between human beings. Just as public politics are being adopted in order to reduce the transmission of the virus, an alarm also occurs among health professionals who seek to understand the context of the significant increase in the number of cases worldwide, especially in young men. This work seeks to elucidate some knowledge gaps that still exist on the subject, such as the transmission routes of the disease, the epidemiological context, the particularities of the clinical management of dermatological lesions and the advent of new drugs for treatment. For this, PubMed, Lilacs and SciELO databases were used, searching for articles published from 1980 to 2022, in Portuguese, English and Spanish, respecting the inclusion and exclusion criteria adopted. Although the monkeypox virus was described for the first time in 1970, the literature on the subject is still limited and its bibliographic search proved to be a challenge for the author. According to the PRISMA stratification model, 40 articles that contributed to the result of the study were considered eligible, in which the sexual route was identified as a potential for transmission of the disease, with a prevalence of cases in males. It was also possible to identify morphological characteristics of the virus that allow it to survive longer on inert surfaces, as well as the contribution of the interruption of smallpox vaccination to the significant growth in the number of cases. Thus, this study proved to be efficient in establishing the causal relationships that culminated in the increase in the incidence of human infection by monkeypox worldwide, as well as contributing to the elucidation of diagnostic and treatment protocols in order to help medical procedures involving the disease.