Endemic Cross-transmission of Mpox within Health-care Settings: A Comprehensive Review

Mpox is a rare infectious disease caused by an enveloped double-stranded DNA virus belonging to the Orthopoxvirus genus within the Poxviridae family. The virus can be found in different animal species, and its first reported appearance in humans was in 1970 in Africa. Subsequently, cases have been r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hail Journal of Health Sciences 2024-07
Main Author: Muhammad Abdulrahman Halwani
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
cross-transmission
endemic
health-care settings
monkeypox
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Mpox is a rare infectious disease caused by an enveloped double-stranded DNA virus belonging to the Orthopoxvirus genus within the Poxviridae family. The virus can be found in different animal species, and its first reported appearance in humans was in 1970 in Africa. Subsequently, cases have been reported in various regions across Africa and even further in other parts of the world, raising concerns about its prevalence among men who have sex with men. While several studies have focused on the transmission of Mpox in the community, scattered reports have explored its transmission in health-care settings, particularly among health-care workers (HCWs). Therefore, this review aims to discuss the potential sources of endemic transmission of Mpox to HCWs within health-care settings and determine the best preventive measures. Extensive search was conducted on six well-known search engines: PubMed Central, ScienceDirect, MEDLINE, OpenMP, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar, using the keywords “Cross-transmission of Mpox,” “Mpox within healthcare settings,” and combinations thereof with the operator AND. Although the search yielded limited results, the literature search confirmed that HCWs who interact with positive patients or handle their samples are at a higher risk of infection. Therefore, strict adherence to preventive measures is imperative, including patient isolation, the use of personal protective equipment, increased education for HCWs regarding this virus, and immunization if necessary. In addition, rigorous environmental cleaning and disinfection of the areas where the patient was located are recommended.
ISSN:1658-8312
1658-8592