Monkeypox: re-emerging zoonosis with repercussions on the mental health of the population

Abstract

Introduction: re-emerging diseases, especially zoonoses, represent a public health problem, with a profound impact on global dynamics. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused serious damage to the physical and mental health of the population, who are still not over the shock provoked, when not very encouraging news appear, a particular outbreak of smallpox known as monkeypox (MPX) that has the health authorities on alert. Objective: to demonstrate the repercussion of zoonoses, especially MPX, on the mental health of the population. Methods: a literature review was carried out following the PRISMA model, for this purpose the MeSH descriptors were entered into the PubMed, Elsevier, Scielo and LILACS search servers in Spanish and English and inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. Results: 23 studies were obtained, which refer to the impact caused by pandemics on mental health, especially psychosocial disorders, isolation, and economic recession, as well as fear, loneliness, disconnection, and depression. In June 2022, the first case of MPX-related suicide is reported. Conclusions: psychological evaluation is needed in suspected and confirmed cases of MPX, especially those patients admitted to isolation wards, allowing early identification of mental involvement and/or history of mental illness