High-Throughput Mpox Clade Ib Detection in Wastewater
- Caryn Tyler
- May 23
- 1 min read
Updated: May 29
Mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) has historically been present in western and central Africa. However, global outbreaks in May 2022 and August 2024 prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare public health emergencies of international concern. The 2022 outbreak was linked to Clade II Mpox. The ongoing 2024 outbreak is driven by a newly identified strain of Clade I Mpox, known as Clade Ib. Clade I is believed to have a higher fatality rate than clade II. Clade Ib was first detected in South Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and now multiple strains of Clade Ib are circulating.(1,2)
Clade Ib Mpox is difficult to diagnose based on clinical symptoms alone, as its visual presentation is not distinct enough for reliable identification.(3) This variant includes a deletion in a genomic region previously targeted by diagnostic tests,(4) which may contribute to underreporting of cases. However, sequencing data from Clade Ib strains have enabled the development of a new PCR-based assay for detecting Mpox in wastewater. This assay targets a region of the genome that is not affected by the deletion, offering a promising tool for monitoring community infection levels and tracking the spread of the disease.
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