[Monkeypox, a new pandemic?].

Monkeypox (MPX) is a disease caused by the monkeypox virus. It is a viral zoonotic disease, endemic in Central and West Africa. Human-to-human spread also occurs and is a feature of the current global outbreak. As far as we know, exponential transmission during this outbreak is not related to changed viral characteristics but due to multiple high-risk contacts in a subset of people that have contracted the virus, so far almost exclusively affecting men who have sex with men (MSM). Appropriate public health measures and increased alertness of all health care providers is needed to increase case-finding and decrease transmission. There is a real chance of MPX to become endemic in large parts of the world.