Therapeutic strategies for human poxvirus infections: Monkeypox (mpox), smallpox, molluscipox, and orf.

ABSTRACT

Therapeutic and vaccine development for human poxvirus infections (e.g., monkeypox (mpox) virus, variola virus, molluscum contagiosum virus, orf virus) has been largely deserted, especially after the eradication of smallpox by 1980. Human mpox is a self-limited disease confined to Central and West Africa for decades. However, since April 2022, mpox has quickly emerged as a multi-country outbreak, urgently calling for effective antiviral agents and vaccines to control mpox. Here, this review highlights possible therapeutic options (e.g., tecovirimat, brincidofovir, cidofovir) and other strategies (e.g., vaccines, intravenous vaccinia immune globulin) for the management of human poxvirus infections worldwide.