The trans-kingdom spectrum of Mpox-like lesion pustules of suspect patients in the Mpox subclade Ib outbreak in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

During infectious disease outbreaks, acquiring genetic data across various kingdoms offers essential information to tailor precise treatment methodologies and bolster clinical, epidemiological, and public health awareness. Metagenomics sequencing has paved the way for personalized treatment approaches and streamlined the monitoring process for both co-infections and opportunistic infections. In this study, we conducted long-read metagenomic DNA sequencing on Mpox-like lesion pustules in six suspected patients during the MPXV subclade Ib outbreak in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The sequenced data was taxonomically classified per the bacterial, fungal, and viral composition. Our results show a wide spectrum of microorganisms present in the lesions. Bacteria such as Corynebacterium amycolatum, Gardnerella vaginalis, Enterococcus faecium, Enterobacter clocae, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia were found in the lesions. The viral classification of the reads pointed out the absolute predominance of Monkeypox virus. Taken together, the outcomes of this investigation underscore the potential involvement of microorganisms in mpox lesions and the potential role that co-infections play in exacerbating disease severity and transmission during the MPXV subclade Ib outbreak.