Infokiri

Dear EVD-LabNet colleagues,

Annual meeting.

The dates for the annual meeting in stockholm have been set for 13-14-15 November 2024. 13 November will be a full day, jointly with the yearly EVD-program Meeting. The day of the 15^th will be a half day (morning). Please block your agenda!

MPox PCR.

For those of you who had not seen it yet: there is a recent message on the virological platform by Masirika et al  , reporting the circulation of Clade 1 Mpox strains in DRC with a genome deletion in the CL3 region. This observation directly affects the use of PCRs that specifically distinguish clade 1 from clade 2 viruses based on the presence of this sequence in the CL3 region in clade 1 viruses and the absence of this sequence in clade 2 viruses. E.g. the deletion in CL3 in clade 1 strains affects the discriminatory potential of the  Li et al., 2010 PCR that is often recommended for specific detection of Clade 1 viruses.

The deletion does not affect the detection of MPXV infections through generic MPXV PCR or generic Orthopox PCRs.

However, this stresses the importance of running generic PCRs and not only clade-specific PCRs that target non-essential genome regions.  So far, clade 1 viruses with the CL3 deletion have not been detected outside the Kamituga outbreak in DRC

More information here:  Novel Clade I genome sequences from the ongoing mpox virus outbreak of Kamituga in South Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo - Monkeypox - Virological

Best wishes Chantal

Chantal Reusken, Ph.D.

Principal expert Virology,

WHO Collaborating Centre for Laboratory Preparedness & Response for High Threat Pathogens and Biorisk

WHO COVID-19 reference laboratory

ECDC expert laboratory network for emerging viruses, EVD-LabNet (Emerging Viral Diseases-Expert Laboratory Network (EVD-LabNet) (europa.eu))

Netherlands Centre for Infectious Disease Control,

National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven

Contact:

P.O. Box 1

3720BA Bilthoven, the Netherlands

Tel: 00-31-2744414

e-mail: [email protected]