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A systematic review on environmental perspectives of monkeypox virus

  • Sara Hemati and Fazel Mohammadi-Moghadam EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: January 2, 2023
Reviews on Environmental Health
From the journal Reviews on Environmental Health Volume 39 Issue 2

Abstract

Monkeypox (MPX) is one of the common infections between humans and animals that caused by a virus belonging to the Orthopoxvirus genus. The Monkeypox virus (MPXV) outbreak is a global crisis triggered by environmental factors (virus, wastewater, surface, air) and amplified by the decisions of government officials and communities. The aim of this systematic review is to describe the environmental perspectives of MPXV with emphasis on risk assessment to prevent and control a new pandemic. Five online databases including Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct and Google Scholar were searched from 1990 to October 2022. Among 120 records, after the screening, four studies were included in the systematic review. The systematic review revealed that the possibility of MPXV transmission through wastewater, air, and the contaminated surfaces is a significant concern and its detection and destroying will play a major role in controlling the spread of the virus. Poxviruses have a high environmental stability, but are sensitive to all common chemical disinfectants. In conclusion, this study revealed that the environmental surveillance can be used as a complementary tool for detecting pathogens circulation in communities. This implies that the monitoring of environmental perspectives of MPXV can provide new awareness into virus transmission routes as well as the role of stakeholders and public health policies in MPXV risk management.

Keywords: disinfection; environmental perspective; monkeypox virus; systematic review
Corresponding author: Fazel Mohammadi-Moghadam, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran, Phone: +98 383 3336712, Fax: +98 383 3334678, E-mail:

  1. Research funding: None declared.

  2. Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.

  3. Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.

  4. Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in this study.

  5. Ethical approval: The conducted research is not related to either human or animal use. The authors herewith confirm that all research reviewed complies with all the relevant national regulations, institutional policies, and was performed in accordance with the tenets of the Helsinki Declaration, and has been approved with the authors’ institutional review board or equivalent committee.

No Author and year Region Type of environment Sample size Sampling site Detection method # of positive MPXV DNA, %
1 Morgan et al. (2022) USA Surface 31 MPXV patient home PCRa 28 (90.32)
2 Atkinson et al. (2022) UK Surface 42 Residence occupied by MPXV patient RT-qPCRb 37 (88.09)
3 De Jonge et al. (2022) Netherlands Wastewater 108 Airport WWTPc, Municipal WWTP RT-qPCR 45 (41.66)
4 Gould et al. (2022) UK Air 20 Patient rooms in hospital qPCRd 5 (25)
4 Gould et al. (2022) UK Surface 60 Patient rooms in hospital qPCRd 56 (93.33)

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Supplementary Material

The article contains supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/reveh-2022-0221).

Received: 2022-11-05
Accepted: 2022-12-20
Published Online: 2023-01-02
Published in Print: 2024-06-25

© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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https://doi.org/10.1515/reveh-2022-0221
Keywords for this article
disinfection; environmental perspective; monkeypox virus; systematic review

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Reviews
  3. The lack of international and national health policies to protect persons with self-declared electromagnetic hypersensitivity
  4. The use of micronucleus assay in oral mucosa cells as a suitable biomarker in children exposed to environmental mutagens: theoretical concepts, guidelines and future directions
  5. Improving the purification of aqueous solutions by controlling the production of reactive oxygen species in non-thermal plasma; a systematic review
  6. Ochratoxin A in coffee and coffee-based products: a global systematic review, meta-analysis, and probabilistic risk assessment
  7. Green space in health research: an overview of common indicators of greenness
  8. The effects of fine particulate matter on the blood-testis barrier and its potential mechanisms
  9. Evaluation of chemicals leached from PET and recycled PET containers into beverages
  10. The association between bisphenol a exposure and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children: a meta-analysis of observational studies
  11. A review on arsenic pollution, toxicity, health risks, and management strategies using nanoremediation approaches
  12. The impact of air pollution and climate change on eye health: a global review
  13. Exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and adverse reproductive outcomes in women: current status and future perspectives
  14. Mechanisms of cholera transmission via environment in India and Bangladesh: state of the science review
  15. Effects of sulfur dioxide inhalation on human health: a review
  16. Health effects of alkaline, oxygenated, and demineralized water compared to mineral water among healthy population: a systematic review
  17. Toxic effects due to exposure heavy metals and increased health risk assessment (leukemia)
  18. A systematic review on environmental perspectives of monkeypox virus
  19. How does formal and informal industry contribute to lead exposure? A narrative review from Vietnam, Uruguay, and Malaysia
  20. Letter to the Editor
  21. Comments on “Personal protective equipment (PPE) and plastic pollution during COVID-19: strategies for a sustainable environment”, by Fatima Ali Mazahir and Ali Mazahir Al Qamari
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