Abstract

Introduction: India reported its first case of MonkeyPox on 14th July 2022 in Kerala after WHO declared it to be a public health emergency of international concern. Since MonkeyPox is a re-emerging disease, knowledge about its etiopathogenesis, clinical features and treatment is essential among budding doctors especially in non-endemic countries.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Dr. Vithalrao Vikhe Patil Foundation’s Medical College and Hospital among 3rd year Phase I and Phase II medical students using a selfdesigned, pre-structured online questionnaire to assess their knowledge about the MonkeyPox virus. Data obtained was collected in Excel and analyzed using SPSS software (version 20).

Results: The average knowledge score was between 40-60% (Average) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 4.39 – 9.39. Of the total participants, 30 (26%) had poor knowledge, 47 (41%) had average knowledge, 37 (32%) had good knowledge and 1 (1%) had excellent knowledge about the MonkeyPox virus. Better knowledge scores were observed among female students (P=0.003) and students studying in 3rd Year Phase I of medical school (P=0.01).

Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrate that a significant number of medical students have insufficient awareness about the re-emerging MonkeyPox virus.

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