Four years after the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, with a worldwide epidemiology largely under control thanks to widespread immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) achieved through infections, vaccinations or both, another threat is on the horizon. The increase in monkeypox (mpox) cases documented in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and some neighboring countries, as well as the recent identification of infected patients in other continents, has raised general awareness and prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the ongoing mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern [1].
