Human antibody responses to circulating monkeypox virus emphasise the need for the first mpox-specific vaccine

Abstract

Monkeypox virus (MPXV), responsible for mpox (formerly known as monkeypox), has infected more than 90 000 individuals since its last major outbreak during 2022–23, in countries historically unaffected by the disease (seven countries before 2022, and 116 countries in 2023), which has led WHO to declare mpox a public health emergency of international concern.1 The primary route of transmission for the current virus strain is through close or intimate contact;1 thus, mpox is moving toward becoming a sexually transmitted disease.

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