Mpox surge and public health laboratories

Mpox cases

With public health officials reporting more than 15,600 cases of mpox infections and 537 deaths in Central and East African countries, the WHO Director-General has “determined that the upsurge of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and a growing number of countries in Africa constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.”¹ 

The clade 1 mpox variant, responsible for the majority of current infections, has been detected in neighboring DRC countries, and in an increasing number of non-African countries where this variant is not known to be endemic.^2,3 To date, only one case outside the endemic region has been confirmed, suggesting limited transmission to-date outside of Africa.  

Public health labs respond to mpox virus

The CDC has issued an updated Health Alert Network advisory recommending that clinicians and laboratories “send clinical specimens collected from patients who traveled from DRC or its neighboring countries, or had close or intimate contact with symptomatic people from these countries, to a laboratory that can perform clade-specific testing as quickly as possible”.² 

For the most up-to-date information, please see the CDC Mpox outbreak website. 

WHO prefers detection of viral DNA by PCR as antigen- and antibody-based methods typically do not distinguish between Orthopoxviruses. Specimens collected directly from the rash—skin, fluid or crusts, or biopsy where feasible—are preferred.⁴