Brief summary

In this observational study, patients diagnosed with mpox will undergo ophthalmological evaluation and follow-up to characterize and treat ocular complications of mpox.

Context

Clade I monkeypox virus (MPXV) infection in Central Africa is often associated with complications including bacterial skin infection, eye infection, bacteraemia, sepsis, encephalitis, and death. Eye complications appear to be particularly frequent as about 20% of mpox patients are estimated to suffer ocular complications that can lead to blindness. Conjunctivitis and corneal lesions are described among patients with clade IIb MPXV infection in Europe and North America. However, descriptive studies of ocular complications during and after mpox in endemic regions are insufficiently documented and outdated. There is a pressing need to map the actual burden of acute and chronic ocular complications of mpox infections in endemic regions to guide service provision to the affected individuals and populations.

Objectives

The study will primarily assess the presence of ophthalmological signs and symptoms at enrollment, but also aims to describe the complications of mpox that may arise later on.

Study procedures

Mpox patients diagnosed and hospitalized at the study site are invited to participate. After providing informed consent, participants undergo standard ophthalmological examinations. This includes history taking, clinical examination, technical examinations such as a dilated fundoscopic exam, a fluorescein test and a Schirmer test, a conjunctival swab for monkeypox virus (MPXV) detection, and photographic documentation. Patients are followed up at day 14, day 28 and day 59, and at additional visits in case of worsening eye symptoms.

Study site

Kamituga General Hospital, Kamituga, South-Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo

NCT06579885

Partners

Institut of Tropical Medecine (ITM) (BE)

Institut National de Recherche Biomedicale (INRB) (CD)

University of Manitoba (CA)

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) (US)