1/6 🦠 A Few More #Mpox ( #MonkeyPox) Pandemic Updates 🦠
"Assuming APOBEC-editing is characteristic of [mpox] infection in human hosts, we propose an APOBEC clock that – at a rate of ~6 APOBEC3 mutations per year – estimates [mpox] has been circulating in humans since 2016." https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.01.23.525187v1
Mpox is often described as being endemic in West and Central Africa as a zoonotic disease that transmits through contact with the reservoir rodent host, likely a species of African squirrel.
"We monitored SARS-CoV-2 & MPXV genomes in the air... in Madrid nightclubs... in 2022. ... MPXV in the air had increased considerably on Aug 8, with 57% of positive samples containing more than 100 genomes per [cubic meter]; this date coincided with the peak incidence of mpox in Spain."
The authors suggest that air sampling might be a useful surveillance method.
Have you ever had a weak positive test for West Nile #virus only to test negative on a subsequent test?
One recurring problem with #epidemiology of #flavivirus #InfectiousDisease is that antibody tests for one flavivirus happen to be highly crossreactive with other flaviviruses.
That is a problem addressed in:
"Co-Circulation of West Nile, Usutu, and Tick-Borne Encephalitis Viruses in the Same Area: A Great Challenge for Diagnostic and Blood and Organ Safety" https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/15/2/366 @virology
Viral infections caused by viruses from the family Flaviviridae such as Zika (ZIKV), Dengue (DENV), yellow fever (YFV), tick-borne encephalitis (TBEV), West Nile (WNV), and Usutu (USUV) are some of the most challenging diseases for recognition in cli…
