Just when you thought we had had our fill of infectious diseases, along comes a virus that sounds straight out of a George Orwell novel.

Monkeypox!

With the number of confirmed cases in Australia growing, it is worth considering the condition in anyone who presents with a pustular type rash, especially if they have recently come back from overseas, says paediatrician Associate Professor Nicholas Wood who is also the Associate Director of the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance.