MBOTE-Contact

Prospective Follow up of High-Risk Contacts 

Context

The transmission dynamics of clade 1 of mpox virus (MPXV) remain poorly understood. Though traditionally thought to result mainly from zoonotic spillover, both historical and more recent observations, including during our outbreak investigation in Tunda/Maniema, indicate that human-to-human transmission could be substantially underestimated, especially within and between households. 

To understand transmission dynamics, it is important to know when and how infected individuals are at risk to infect others. Traditionally, it is thought that patients only shed virus when they are symptomatic and that asymptomatic transmission does not occur. However, we and others recently found evidence for asymptomatic and presymptomatic viral shedding with clade 2b MPXV. Whether this also occurs with clade I infections remains to be determined.  

Objective

Study human-to-human transmission of MPXV by determining the secondary attack rate (SAR) among high-risk contacts of index patients.

Partners

• Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB)
• Institut de Médecine Tropicale (ITM)