1.Monkeypox virus infection status
According to the news of the United Nations on May 22, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported 92 confirmed cases and 28 suspected cases in 12 non monkeypox virus endemic countries around the world since May 13 (Table 1 for details). So far, no related deaths have been reported.
Table1. Monkeypox cases in non-endemic countries reported to WHO from 13:00 on May 13 to 21, 2022
Four African countries with monkeypox epidemic reported 1315 confirmed cases to WHO from December 15, 2021 to May 1, 2022 (as shown in Table 2). The currently reported confirmed and suspected patients in non-endemic countries have no travel history in endemic countries. Existing cases are mainly found among men who have sex with men. There is evidence that monkeypox is spreading between people who have close physical contact with symptomatic cases.
|
Country |
Time period |
Accumulated cases |
Accumulated death |
|
Cameroon |
December 15,2021 to February 22,2022 |
25 |
<5 |
|
Central African |
March 4 to April 10, 2022 |
6 |
<5 |
|
Congo |
January 1 to May 1, 2022 |
1238 |
57 |
|
Nigeria |
January 1, 2022 to April 30, 2022 |
46 |
0 |
Table 2. Monkeypox cases in endemic countries from December 15, 2021 to May 1, 2022
2. Introduction of monkeypox virus
What is monkeypox virus?
Monkeypox virus is an enveloped double-stranded DNA virus that belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus of the Poxviridae family. There are two distinct genetic clades of the monkeypox virus: the central African (Congo Basin) clade and the west African clade. So far, Cameroon is the only country where both virus clades have been found at the same time.
Fig.1 The structure map of monkeypox virus (Source: Chinanews.com)
Symptoms of monkeypox virus
With the eradication of smallpox in 1980 and subsequent cessation of smallpox vaccination, monkeypox has emerged as the most important orthopoxvirus for public health. Monkeypox is a zoonotic orthopoxvirus with an incubation period of 6 to 13 days. At the early stage, it is characterized by fever, intense headache, muscle aches, lymphadenopathy (swelling of the lymph nodes) and intense asthenia. Typical systemic purulent herpes usually begins within a few days after fever, which can lead to secondary infection. The fatality ratio of monkeypox has ranged from 0 to 11 % in the general population and has been higher among young children.
(Source：picture uploaded by NetEase Hao netizen)
3. Transmission and diagnosis
Transmission
Monkeypox virus can enter the body through damaged skin, respiratory tract or mucous membrane (eyes, nose or mouth). Its main transmission modes are:
①Animal-to-human transmission (directly contact with the blood, bodily fluids, or cutaneous lesions including bitten or scratched of infected animals).
②Human-to-human transmission (close body contact with infected patients)；
③Contaminated objects to human transmission (contact with patient focus, body fluid, respiratory droplets and related contaminated materials such as bedding)
The incubation period of monkeypox virus is usually 6 to 13 days, up to 21 days. According to The Guardian and local media reports on the 22nd, the British health and safety agency has proposed that anyone who has close contact with or lives together with confirmed cases of monkeypox should be self-isolated for 21 days.
It is urgent to diagnose monkeypox in time and inhibit the spread as soon as possible!
Diagnosis
Clinical identification of monkeypox is the first step of diagnosis and the confirmation of monkeypox requires a series of laboratory tests, including: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis; Virus isolation from cell culture; Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); Antigen detection test. It is worth noting that antigen and antibody detection methods do not provide monkeypox-specific confirmation due to the serologically cross-reactivity of orthopoxviruses. Therefore, serology and antigen detection methods are not recommended for diagnosis or case investigation where resources are limited. Only PCR and virus isolation from cell culture can confirm the existence of the virus and PCR is the preferred laboratory test given its accuracy and sensitivity. The samples of monkeypox come from vesicles, pustular fluid, scab and blood specimen. The optimal diagnostic samples are from skin lesions – the roof or fluid from vesicles and pustules, and dry crusts.
4. The solution of Vazyme
Since the outbreak of monkeypox virus, many IVD companies at home and abroad have developed monkeypox virus nucleic acid detection kits. As a supplier of professional raw materials and solutions in the fields of life science, in vitro diagnosis and biomedicine, Vazyme will give full play to the advantages of raw materials and provide you with a full set of solutions such as amplification reagents, positive control and primer probe design required for product development in the field of monkeypox diagnosis to help you quickly complete product development.
Sample process
| Product classification | Item number | Name | Sample Type | Product Introduction | |
| Extraction | Magnetic bead extraction | RM411 | Virus DNA/RNA Extraction Kit 2.0 (Prepackaged) | Blood, serum, plasma, swab lotion, stool swab and other samples | Good compatibility, fast extraction in 14 min |
| RM305 | Nucleic acid extraction and purification Kit | Human nasal swab and throat swab | Rapid isolation and purification of nucleic acid in 6 min | ||
| Column extraction | RC313 | FastPure® Viral DNA/RNA Mini Kit Pro | Whole blood, serum, plasma, alveolar lavage fluid, nasal swab and throat swab, cell culture supernatants, stool swab | Good compatibility, fast extraction | |
Nucleic acid amplification
| Product classification | Item number | Name | Product introduction | |
| Enzyme mix | qPCR mix | QN213 | Taq Pro U+ Multiple Probe qPCR Mix | qPCR premix with wide compatibility, support rapid amplification, high sensitivity and high specificity |
| QV114 | Animal Detection U+ Probe qPCR Super PreMix | Highly sensitive qPCR premix, support full premixing of primer probes, compatible with rapid procedures | ||
| Single enzyme | Hot-start enzyme | P132 | Taq HS DNA Polymerase | Highly sensitive and super tolerant DNA polymerase modified by antibody method, suitable for multiple reactions, high sensitivity |
| Thermosensitive UDG | P051 | Heat-labile UDG | Whole platform anti-pollution match system can quickly inactivate at 55 ° C for 10min, compatible with common PCR reaction systems | |
| Monoclonal antibody | P121 | Champagne Taq antibody | Highly specific heat stable Taq enzyme McAb with high purity and batch stability. | |
Product performance display
Taq Pro U+ Multiple Probe qPCR Mix（QN213）(click to view the product detail)
▶ Excellent amplification performance
For the virus system, Vazyme brand and other brands of qPCR reagent were used for amplification and detection. The results showed that Vazyme#QN213 had better sensitivity and platform period than other brands in FAM/ROX/VIC/CY5 channel.
Animal Detection U+ Probe qPCR Super PreMix（QV114） (click to view the product detail)
▶ Better premixed stability
With the dual quality control system, the Vazyme#QV114 premixed primer probe was processed by repeated freezing and thawing for 30 times and pressure at 37℃for 7 days respectively. The premixed solution stored at -20℃ was used as the control and carried out on the same board. The results showed that Vazyme#QV114 premixed primer probe had no significant difference with the control group after the corresponding treatment, showing the reagent had better premixed stability.
▶ Excellent amplification sensitivity
With blood DNA virus as the template, Vazyme#QV114 and other brand probe qPCR reagents (T、TA) were used for amplification under the same reaction conditions. The results showed that Vazyme#QV114 had higher detection sensitivity and amplification platform than similar products.
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Reference
[1] Abuja: Federal Ministry of Health and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control; 2019
[2] 世界卫生组织（2022 年 5 月 21 日）。疾病爆发新闻；非流行国家的多国猴痘爆发。见：https ://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2022-DON385
