Differences between monkeypox and chickenpox

Abstract

The monkeypox outbreak has been declared a public health emergency of international concern. Because it is a new disease in our country, some aspects of this disease are unknown that can easily be confused with chickenpox because of the clinical picture it produces if the health personnel are not familiar with it, that is why it is necessary to know the most important differences to give a good management to the patient. Objective: to identify the main differences between monkeypox and chickenpox. Method: a qualitative-comparative method was used because a bibliographic consultation was carried out in order to compare both diseases. Results: The two main differences observed are: lymphadenopathy that occurs in monkeypox and is absent in chickenpox and itching or pruritus that is present in chickenpox and absent in monkeypox. Epidemiologically, smallpox occurs more in adults than in children. Conclusion: clinical and epidemiological differences may become a minimal time, therefore, the accurate diagnosis of monkeypox should be based on the result of the PCR performed on the suspected patient