MPOX

The objective of this prospective paired diagnostic comparison study is to evaluate the diagnostic yield and field applicability of SDS-EDTA-treated chromatography paper strips for the collection, transport, and laboratory detection of mpox virus compared with the routine swab-based sampling method under field conditions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The study is conducted among patients with suspected mpox infection presenting to healthcare facilities in South Kivu, DRC. For each participant, paired samples are collected simultaneously using the standard swab method and the SDS-EDTA strip method. Samples are analyzed using locally available molecular diagnostic platforms.

This is a health facility-based prospective test-negative (TND) case-control study to evaluate vaccine effectiveness and active safety monitoring (cohort event monitoring), and passive surveillance for evaluation of the safety of the LC16m8 mpox vaccine in individuals aged one year and older in the DRC. This study aims to assess the LC16m8 vaccine effectiveness and safety. The following activities will be carried out: * Community engagement * Enhanced health facility-based mpox disease surveillance * Vaccination using the LC16m8 vaccine * Safety monitoring following immunization * LC16m8 Vaccine effectiveness evaluation using a TND Study Hypothesis: The LC16m8 vaccine, administered as pre-exposure prophylaxis, confers greater than 70% protection against symptomatic mpox disease among adults and children in the DRC.

The MPXV CARE study principally aims to use clinical and epidemiology data to target specific individuals willing and able to provide appropriate and proportionate biological samples to develop novel immune diagnostics that support models of disease burden and future vaccine utilisation.

The study is a prospective cohort that evaluates the clinical and immune-metabolic variables that may be linked to the risk and severity of the infection or even hospitalization or death in patients infected with the Mpox virus in Brazil. The expectation is to include at least 80 patients over six months, with a follow-up of 90 days from inclusion, through contact via decentralized visits.