New insights into mpox clinical outcomes and transmission — University of Oxford, Medical Sciences Division

Clade I and II mpox virus is endemic in Central and West Africa, causing local seasonal outbreaks.

In May 2022, a new variant of the mpox virus caused the first global outbreak, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, and causing nearly 90,000 cases worldwide in one year. This variant, known as clade IIb, differs from the mpox typically seen in Africa, particularly in how it spreads and the symptoms it causes. 

With limited available clinical evidence about the disease’s symptoms and best treatments, researchers at PSI and the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC) embarked with partners across Europe on a programme of research to generate robust and clinically significant new data.

Results from one of these studies on a large sample of participants, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, provide insights into how clade IIb mpox affected people during the recent outbreak, the risks of onwards transmission and health outcomes for patients.

The observational study – known as MOSAIC and funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Wellcome, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and by the European Commission with the MPX-Response in the European Union – was conducted to better understand the clinical features of mpox and to measure how long it took for lesions to heal and for the virus to clear. 

Read the full story on the Nuffield Department of Medicine website.