Asymptomatic Orthopoxvirus Circulation in Humans in the Wake of a Monkeypox Outbreak among Chimpanzees in Cameroon.

ABSTRACT: Monkeypox virus is a zoonotic Orthopoxvirus (OPXV) that causes smallpox-like illness in humans. In Cameroon, human monkeypox cases were confirmed in 2018, and outbreaks in captive chimpanzees occurred in 2014 and 2016. We investigated the OPXV serological status among staff at a primate sanctuary (where the 2016 chimpanzee outbreak occurred) and residents from nearby villages, and describe contact with possible monkeypox reservoirs. We focused specifically on Gambian rats (Cricetomys spp.) because they are recognized possible reservoirs and because contact with Gambian rats was common enough to render sufficient statistical power. We collected one 5-mL whole blood specimen from each participant to perform a generic anti-OPXV ELISA test for IgG and IgM antibodies and ad

SUBMITTER: Guagliardo SAJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6947779 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature