Current status of monkeypox vaccines

Monkeypox disease is caused by infection with the monkeypox virus, an orthopoxvirus belonging to the same poxviridae family as variola and vaccinia viruses. Monkeypox disease was initially diagnosed in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and has since spread to other countries in Africa, in particular regions of West and Central Africa where it is endemic 1 . Prior to 2022, occasional outbreak outside Africa were linked to international travel or imported animals 2 . In May 2022, multiple clusters of monkeypox were reported in European countries and North America. The number of weekly reported new cases has since dramatically increased resulting in the WHO declaring this outbreak a public health emergency of international concern 3 . On August 4, 2022, monkeypox was declared a public health emergency in the US 4 . As of August 3, 2022, more than 25,000 confirmed cases have been reported to WHO across 85 countries with the majority of the cases reported from the European region and regions of the Americas 5 . Males between 18–44 years of age are disproportionally affected by this outbreak and accounting for 79% of cases. Most of those affected by the current outbreaks are gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men. According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), many of the initial patients reported international travel prior to the onset of symptoms, but since late June 2022, an increasing number of cases are now linked to local community transmission 6 .