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. 2024 Oct 15;11(Suppl 2):S146–S155. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofae503

Table 3.

Reservoirs of the Monkeypox Virus

Reservoir Rodents Nonhuman Primates Others
Natural host Rope squirrel (Funisciurus anerythrus) Sooty mangabey monkey (Cercocebus atys) None
Probable hosts

  • Gambian pouched rats (Cricetomys gambianus)

  • Jerboa (Jaculus sp)

  • Tree squirrels

  • Carruther's mountain squirrels (Funisciurus carruthersi)

  • Fire-footed rope-squirrels (Funisciurus pyrropus)

  • Congo rope squirrel (Funisciurus congicus)

  • Mice

  • Peridomestic rodents

  • White rats (genus Rattus)

  • Castaneous (CAST) subspecies of the house mouse

  • Hamsters

  • Groundhogs

  • Porcupines

  • West African squirrels

  • Red-legged squirrels

  • Prairie dogs (Cynomys sp)

  • Sun squirrels (Heliosciurus spp)

  • African dormice (Graphiurus spp)

  • Gambian giant rat (Cricetomys spp)

  • Rope squirrels (Funisciurus spp)

  • Striped mice (Hybomys sp)

  • Rope squirrel (Funisciurus spp, family Scuridae)

  • African dormice (Graphiurus crassicaudatus and Graphiurus lorraineus, family Gliridae)

  • Giant pouched rats (Cricetomys spp, family Nesomyidae)

  • Rope squirrels (genus Funisciurus) and sun squirrels (genus Heliosciurus), rodents in the genera Lemniscomys, Lophuromys, Thamnomys, Oenomys, Praomys

  • Porcupines (Atherurus africanus)

  • Red-legged sun squirrels (Heliosciurus rufobrachium)

  • Ribboned rope squirrels (Funisciurus lemniscatus)

  • Gambian sun squirrels (Heliosciurus gambianus)

  • Orangutans (Pongo sp)

  • Chimpanzees

  • Cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca cynomolgus)

  • Genera Cercocebus, Cercopithecus, Colobus, and Allenopithecus

  • Crowned monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius)

  • Red-tailed monkeys (Cercopithecus pogonias)

  • Lesser white-nosed monkeys (Cercopithecus petaurista)

  • Western colobus monkey (Colobus badius)

  • Grivet (Chlorocebus aethiops)

  • New World giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla)

  • Elephant shrews (family Macroscelididae)

  • Newborns of white rabbits and rabbits

  • Mongoosea

  • Gazelles

  • African hedgehogs (Atelerix sp)

  • Short-tailed opossums (Monodelphis domestica)

  • Woodchucks (Marmota monax)

aOne of the collaborators identified a contradiction between what was stated in the systematic review (Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2022; 26:5983–90) and what was published in the primary paper (Infect Dis Clin North Am 2019; 33:1027–43) in relation to mongoose being a possible reservoir of monkeypox virus. Hence, we recommend that mongoose not be considered as a possible reservoir unless further evidence is found.