Date of Graduation

5-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Biological Sciences

Advisor/Mentor

Forbes, Kristian

Committee Member/Reader

Naithani, Kusum

Committee Member/Second Reader

Zies, Brenda J.

Committee Member/Third Reader

Thomas, Johanna

Abstract

Monkeypox virus (MPXV) is an etiological agent of Monkeypox with origins believed to be of Central/West Africa. As a member of the orthopoxvirus family and due to its increasing emergence, it has become a pathogen in need of research. This paper works to find common trends of transmission routes and reservoir hosts in previous publications through a systematic review. Articles found on Web of Science containing the search term “Monkeypox” were sorted based on relevance to the review topics of potential reservoir hosts and transmission routes of Monkeypox virus. Through Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), 1,036 articles were evaluated, 905 were excluded, and 131 were included. Results showed the African Rope Squirrel, the Giant Gambian Rat, and various other squirrels (as a general category) were most likely to be considered as potential reservoir hosts for MPXV. Respectively, these species were mentioned in 26.80%, 19.59%, and 15.46% of the articles that recommended a potential reservoir host. Direct contact most often was reported as the probable transmission route for MPXV. Approximately 83.33% of articles that had a comment about transmission possibilities said direct contact causes spillover of MPXV from zoonotic hosts to humans. In conclusion, findings from the review give sufficient guidelines on where public health officials can take research to find clear answers on MPXV transmission.

Keywords

Monkeypox; Zoonosis; Reservoir Host; Transmission Mechanism

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