High genetic diversity of mpox virus (MPXV) in three different rodent species in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
Matondo Kuamfumu, M.; Baelo, P.; Lacroix, A.; Odia Kadima, G.; Ndimbo Kumugo, S.-P.; Kinganda Lusamaki, E.; Nkuba Ndaye, A.; Ramassamy, J.-L.; Cooreman, T.; Geraerts, M.; Amuri-Aziza, A.; Akil, P.; Cikaya, F.; Laurent, N.; Van Vredendaal, R.; Fourchault, L.; Joffrin, L.; Laudisoit, A.; Liesenborghs, L.; Vercauteren, K.; Arien, K.; de Block, T.; Jansen, D.; Nebesse, C.; Ngoy, S.; Mande, C.; Ayouba, A.; Delaporte, E.; Kaleme, P.; Flores-Giron, L.; Mari Saez, A.; Leirs, H.; Gryseels, S.; Mbala Kingebeni, P.; Verheyen, E.; Gembu, G.-C.; Marien, J.; Peeters, M.; Ahuka Mundeke, S.
Show abstract
Altough zoonotic spillover events continue to drive human mpox outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the wildlife reservoir of mpox virus (MPXV) remains unkown. To address this gap, we screened samples from 2,701 wild mammals, mainly rodents (59.7%), bats (26.4%) and shrews (12.1%). Only six (0.2%) animals were Orthopoxvirus (OPV) PCR positive. Near full-length MPXV sequences were obtained from two squirrels (Funisciurus anerythrus and Paraxerus sp.) and one soft furred mouse (Praomys jacksoni). A novel Taterapox virus was identified in a shrew (Crocidura cf. denti). All newly identified MPXV strains belong to clade Ia, but they cluster into different groups or subgroups, despite being collected from geographically close locations, and all are closely related to human MPXV strainsfrom the same regions. Our study provides for the first time clear evidence that MPXV diversity is not restricted to a single rodent host species nor confined to a geographic area. Importantly, MPXV positive Paraxerus and Praomys specimens were sampled close to Kisangani, a city with more than one million inhabitants, highlighting that spillover events can als ooccur in or near major cities, with more favorable conditions for interhuman transmissions and potential emergence of new lineages.
Matching journals
The top 9 journals account for 50% of the predicted probability mass.
Similar papers in this journal
- Mystery of fatal "Staggering disease" unravelled: Novel rustrela virus causes severe encephalomyelitis in domestic cats 96%
- Highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) in marine mammals and seabirds in Peru 96%
- Reservoir host studies of Lloviu virus: first isolation, sequencing and serology in Schreiber's bats in Europe 95%
Similar papers in this journal
- Genomic investigation of a dengue virus outbreak in Thiès, Senegal, in 2018 95%
- Microbial Metagenomic Approach Uncovers the First Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus genome in Sub-Saharan Africa 95%
- Local patterns of spread of influenza A(H3N2) virus in coastal Kenya over a one-year period revealed through virus sequence data 93%
Similar papers in this journal
- Infection and transmission of ancestral SARS-CoV-2 and its alpha variant in pregnant white-tailed deer 94%
- Detection of anti-premembrane antibody as a specific marker of four flavivirus serocomplexes and its application to serosurveillance in endemic regions 94%
- Pigs are highly susceptible to but do not transmit mink-derived highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b 93%
Similar papers in this journal
- Molecular Xenomonitoring (MX) allows real-time surveillance of West Nile and Usutu virus in mosquito populations. 96%
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of the potential non-human animal reservoirs and arthropod vectors of the Mayaro virus 94%
- Viral metagenome characterization reveals species-specific virome profiles in Triatominae populations from the southern United States 94%
Similar papers in this journal
"Similar papers" are the closest papers from that journal in the model's embedding space. They show what the match is built on, but the ranking comes mostly from a classifier over the whole training set, not from these examples alone.