The article reported that two monkeypox virus-infected immunocompetent patients in the United States were hospitalized for signs of viral myocarditis and subsequently discharged upon symptom improvement.
Background: Viruses that cause monkeypox in Central and West Africa have caused monkeypox virus (MPXV) outbreaks in other parts of the world from time to time. MPXV, a zoonotic DNA orthopoxvirus, is related to the smallpox virus. It is transmitted through large respiratory droplets and close or direct contact with an infected animal.
There is typically a fever at the beginning of the illness, followed by the appearance of multiple papular lesions and inflammatory lesions on the skin, including vesiculopustular rash and ulcers. The infection can cause complications like pneumonitis, encephalitis, keratitis, secondary bacterial infections, acute kidney injury, and myocarditis. Young and immunocompromised individuals are at a higher risk of monkeypox virus infections. Generally, viral infections are associated with myocarditis. However, the pathophysiology of orthopoxvirus-induced myocarditis remains unknown.