French study reports growing evidence of sexual activity-linked transmission of monkeypox Sorbonne_Univ_ TheLancet Monkeypox MonkeypoxVirus Transmission
By Tarun Sai LomteOct 3 2022Reviewed by Aimee Molineux In a recent study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, researchers described patients with monkeypox virus infection.
However, more than 60,000 cases of MPX have been reported since May 2022 in countries without historical cases, particularly in the United States and Europe, among those with no travel history to endemic areas. In the current outbreak, men who have sex with men appear disproportionately affected by MPX, with a significant proportion of whom have attended mass gathering events.
Samples for re-testing were from the same lesions from the initial diagnosis in cases where the lesions were still present. Re-test samples were not collected if the lesion was absent. The study’s primary outcome was the proportion of positive samples at D0. Secondary outcomes included the proportion of positive samples from D14 and the cycle threshold values of positive samples from D0 and D14.
Skin lesion samples had significantly higher viral loads than throat, blood, or semen samples. Similarly, a high viral load was noted in semen samples of patients with genital lesions, anal samples from patients with anal ulcers, and throat samples from patients with tonsilitis. Twenty-four patients were retested at D14. There were 100 paired samples, that is, collected from the same lesion.