Urogenit Tract Infect.  2023 Aug;18(2):35-44. 10.14777/uti.2023.18.2.35.

Is Human Mpox a New Sexually Transmitted Infection in Korea That Should Be Monitored?

• Lee G

• KMID: 2545910
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14777/uti.2023.18.2.35

Abstract

Human monkeypox (mpox) outbreaks have been reported in more than 110 countries, with more than 86,930 confirmed cases. The World Health Organization has realized the seriousness of personal transmission and has declared a global health emergency against the infection. Traditionally, contact with infected animals in a few endemic countries has been a major transmission route of the mpox virus. On the other hand, the global mpox outbreak in 2022 has been primarily associated with sexual networks of men who have sex with men (MSM) and bisexual men exhibiting high-risk behaviors. Their common symptoms are initial fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes, and subsequent skin rashes. These presentations did not consistently occur in the 2022 outbreak. Many patients presented with skin lesions on the anogenital areas without prodromal symptoms. In addition, the atypical characteristics of the recent outbreak may result in a misdiagnosis of other skin lesions, such as chickenpox. Furthermore, infected persons are frequently co-infected with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) with similar skin lesions. The newly confirmed cases in Korea on April 2023 must have been infected through community transmission because these new patients had not traveled overseas in the past three months. Therefore, mpox is something that everybody should be concerned about in Korea. Medical practitioners must know the characteristics of the infection because patients with mpox may visit their offices with some genital lesions or other STIs. The clinical information from this paper may broaden and deepen the understanding of human mpox and curb the early transmission of the infection.

Keyword

Monkeypox; Korea; Sexually transmitted infection