Photo Credit: Marina Demidiuk
The following is a summary of “Serological Evidence of Mpox Virus Infection During Peak Mpox Transmission in New York City, July to August 2022,” published in the May 2024 issue of Infectious Disease by Pathela et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study determining the true scope of Mpox infections by identifying potentially undiagnosed cases in a 2022 outbreak epicenter.
They conducted a serosurvey (July and August 2022) to examine the seroprevalence and correlates of Mpox infection among asymptomatic patients without prior Mpox diagnoses or histories of smallpox or Mpox vaccination. The seropositivity of patients was presented based on characteristics collected through a survey.
The results showed 419 participants; two-thirds were cismen (281 of 419), with 59.1% of them reporting sex with men (MSM). The sample also included 109 ciswomen and 28 individuals who were transgender/gender nonconforming/nonbinary. Overall seroprevalence stood at 6.4% (95% CI, 4.1%–8.8%), with 3.7% among ciswomen (95% CI, 1.0%–9.1%), 7.0% among cismen with only cis women partners (95% CI, 2.0%–11.9%), and 7.8% among MSM (95% CI, 3.7%–11.9%). Seroprevalence showed slight variation by race/ethnicity, age group, HIV status, or number of recent sex partners. None of the participants reporting close contact with Mpox cases tested positive. Without recent Mpox-like symptoms, 6.3% were seropositive (95% CI, 3.6%–9.0%).
Investigators concluded that a significant proportion of individuals who were unvaccinated harbored antibodies to Mpox during the NYC outbreak peak, suggesting a role of asymptomatic infections in transmission.
Source: academic.oup.com/jid/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/infdis/jiae181/7670756