[Isolation of the monkey pox virus from a wild African squirrel].
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Two fusion experiments with NSO myeloma cells yielded 30 hybrid cell lines which continuously and actively secreted monoclonal antibodies (MoAb) to monkey pox virus. Eight lines appeared to produce antibodies to specific antigenic determinants. The isotype and serologic reactivity of MoAb to monkey pox virus was characterized and the karyotype of several hybridomas determined. An enzyme labelled conjugate has been prepared from MoAb selectively reacting with monkey pox virus. This conjugate allowed the identification of monkey pox virus in the materials from patients. It also helped to determine that an orthopoxvirus isolated from wild squirrel in the Republic of Zaire was monkey pox virus.
Cross-neutralization tests were done on accepted species and recently isolated members of the genus Orthopoxvirus using antisera which had been separately absorbed with the various viruses. The results provided evidence for the involvement of four neutralizing antigens, and their distribution among 13 virus strains was determined. Monkeypox (Congo-8-Lombe), camelpox (Gorgan), ectromelia (Mill Hill), 'Lenny' and elephant poxviruses had distinctive antigenic formulae. Lister and Wyeth vaccines were indistinguishable but different from Copenhagen and EM63 vaccines which were themselves distinct. Cowpox (Brighton), buffalopox (BP4), MK 10, and Moscow poxviruses were indistinguishable. Examples were found where viruses shared surface antigens but were not all neutralized by antibody to them. this reduced the practical value of the technique for virus identification. Evidence was also obtained for the existence in some viruses of a fifth antigen, antibody to which could block neutralization by antibody to one particular antigen.
These revised recommendations on vaccinia (smallpox) vaccine update the previous recommendations (MMWR 1985; 34:341-2) and include current information on its use among laboratory and health-care workers occupationally exposed to vaccinia, recombinant vaccinia viruses, and other orthopoxviruses that can infect humans. This report also contains revised recommendations on revaccination of high-risk workers and information on contraindications to vaccination.
The authors report on the first coming out in Gabon of human monkey-pox. Four children in the same family were simultaneously attacked. In one of the two fatal cases, diagnosis of monkey-pox was confirmed by the isolation of the virus. In the three other cases, diagnosis was based on clinical and epidemiological findings. The coming out of monkey-pox in Gabon squares with sporadic coming out of this zoonosis observed in the humid tropical forests of west and Central Africa. Two fatal cases presented some symptoms of hemorrhagic fever and cutaneous symptoms did not dominate the clinical feature. As a consequence of it, monkey-pox has to be envisaged in similar cases. The attack of liver and spleen in man has not been documented up till now, as it has been for monkeys. Classical diagnosis is based on the isolation of the virus from a cutaneous lesion. In the present case, the virus was isolated from a blood sample. Epidemiological study did not reveal any interhuman transmission evidence, nor the source of infection.
Monkey pox virus was mechanically disrupted by low temperature and high pressure into soluble and insoluble fractions. Soluble fractions elicited virus-neutralizing antibodies (1:20 to 1:160) in rabbits, whereas the insoluble (in saline) fractions did not (less than 1:5). No infectious virus was detected after the disruption procedure. Rhesus monkeys immunized with the soluble fraction elicited virus-neutralizing (1:1,200), complement-fixing (1:16), and hemagglutinating-inhibiting (1:80 to 1:160) antibody titers and were completely protected against monkey pox virus-induced disease. This model of monkey pox virus subunit vaccine preparation may prove to be useful in developing an efficacious noninfectious vaccinia vaccine for use in high-risk individuals.
Monkeypox is an orthopoxvirus with enzootic circulation in rainforests of central and western Africa; the virus can be transmitted to humans and cause a syndrome clinically similar to smallpox (e.g., pustular rash, fever, respiratory symptoms, and in some cases, death). From February through August 1996, a total of 71 clinical cases of monkeypox, including six deaths, occurred in 13 villages in Africa in the Katako-Kombe health zone (1996 combined population: 15,698), Sankuru subregion, Kasai Oriental, Zaire. During the initial investigation of this cluster of human cases, specimens of serum and/or crusted scab or fluid from vesicles were collected from 11 patients, and monkeypox virus infection was confirmed in all 11 patients by the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center for Smallpox and Other Poxvirus Infections at CDC. Preliminary DNA phylogenetic studies of this strain of virus indicated only minor genetic variation compared with other strains of monkeypox virus from Zaire collected during 1970-1979. Because of reports by local public health officials of ongoing disease transmission, the Zaire Ministry of Health and WHO organized a follow-up investigation in February 1997 to characterize the magnitude of the outbreak. This report summarizes the preliminary results of the ongoing multidisciplinary investigation, which suggest that person-to-person transmission accounted for most monkeypox cases investigated in 1996 and 1997; in contrast, during previous years, reports were primarily for sporadic cases that resulted from animal-to-human transmission.
Since the Prehistoric times hunting has been a vital activity for man. However, this may account for the contamination of the hunter, his family and relatives. Infections may occur by direct contact with blood or tissues of infected animal during handling and cutting up preys and when preparing or eating meat, or also when bitten by injured animal. Apes and antelopes hunting in sub-Saharan Africa proves to be particularly important since it has been well established that the recent or previous emergence of some viral zoonosis (Ebola, Aids, T lymphotropic viruses and Monkeypox) resulted from hunting and poaching. Moreover predation among different species of non human primates such as that practised by chimpanzees against monkeys, has led to the construction of recombinant simian Lentiviruses, such as SIV cpz able to infect man and then spread over the entire mankind as it was the case with HIV-1. SARS is another possible example of the zoonotic risks represented by the sale, handling and cutting up Chinese wild animals such as Himalayan civets for culinary purposes.
The dual potential of poxviruses to be cytolytic and tumorgenic has been extended. Yaba monkey tumor virus formed foci on monkey and human embryonic cells. Cytolytic or plaque-forming virus was isolated from Yaba tumor homogenates by selective sucrose centrifugation and passage through monkey or human embryonic cells. Monkey pox virus (MPV) was cytolytic for monkey cells or human embryonic cells, but upon passage onto young monolayers of human carcinoma cells, HeLa, produced a restricted cytopathic effect on first transfer, foci on second transfer and cytolysis after the fourth transfer. If HeLa monolayers were compact, the rapid growth precluded overt expression of cytolytic MPV. Electron micrographs of cytolytic Yaba indicated that Yaba development was similar to vaccinia and MPV but not totally organized. Growth curves of vaccinia, MPV and cytolytic Yaba were essentially identical in monkey and human embryonic cell lines.
Mpox has re-emerged as a significant global zoonotic threat, driven mainly by two large waves the 2022 worldwide Clade IIb outbreak and the 2024 Clade Ib epidemic in Central Africa. This review examines the challenges of interpreting this evolving virus from molecular, epidemiological, and bioinformatics perspectives, with a focus on global health workforce preparedness. Clade IIb largely moved through sexual transmission across countries, but Clade Ib has appeared in a wider population-women, children, and individuals infected through household spread without any sexual contact. Early case series suggest that Clade Ib may cause a more severe disease burden, but more research is needed to directly compare severity and fatality rates with Clade IIb due to the limited number of current studies. The review examines the virus's strategies for evading the host's immune defenses throughout its ∼197 kbp genome, including how it disrupts interferon signaling and creates decoy receptors. This review summarizes the clinical findings of PALM007 and STOMP, noting that neither trial achieved its main efficacy endpoint making routine tecovirimat use less compelling-while leaving open whether it helps particular high-risk groups. A further point is that immunity from the MVA-BN vaccine wanes with time, leading to the growing adoption of booster vaccinations. In conclusion, the review calls for a One Health approach pairing genomic tracking with ecological intelligence and including wastewater surveillance to fill existing gaps in knowledge and enhance the global handling of new orthopoxvirus threats.
Serological surveillance of suspected orthopoxvirus infections in man is important for confirming the success of the worldwide smallpox eradication programme. An adsorption radioimmunoassay (RIA) was used to differentiate sera from patients who were naturally infected with human monkeypox or variola virus, and individuals who were immunized with vaccinia virus. The antisera were adsorbed with uninfected chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) and vaccinia-infected CAM before reacting in RIA with vaccinia, monkeypox, and variola antigens. Each serum group showed characteristic patterns of residual antibody activity which made it possible to identify antibody specificities.When 45 human sera were tested by this method, 71% were identified as having vaccinia, variola, or monkeypox adsorption characteristics, while the remaining 29% could not be identified. Of the identified sera, 9 were characteristic of vaccinia, 8 of variola, and 15 of monkeypox. Six of the 15 monkeypox sera were virologically confirmed monkeypox infections, 6 were suspected monkeypox infections but were not virologically confirmed, and 3 were of unknown aetiology.The adsorption RIA provides a method of identifying serologically the poxvirus responsible for infection long after the acute phase of illness.
Weapons of mass destruction can be used to harm and terrorize populations. Such weapons include those with chemical, nuclear or biological properties. Obviously computer viruses can add additional barriers to a quick response. The most effective, least costly and greatest threats are biologicals. Biological terror is not new, and biological weapons have been used for centuries. However, as a result of modern technology, the risks are greater now and the outcomes more terrible. Today they include live pathogens, various toxins, and theoretically "bioregulators"--biochemicals affecting cell signaling. Altered cell signaling could be used to induce apoptosis-cell death, or a heightened outpouring of cytokines mimicking overwhelming sepsis, or even an intracellular, biochemical "strike" causing cellular paralysis. Biological weaponeers now have the frightening ability to alter the genetic makeup of pathogens, rendering them resistant not only to available antibiotic therapy but also to currently effective vaccines. In dark corners of some fringe groups, bioweaponeers are searching for the capability of designing pathogens that target specific races, by virtue of discriminating ligands (1). The resulting morbidity and mortality from use of any biological weapons will be accompanied by chaos, governmental and social instability, panic, an extraordinary utilization of available resources, and an ongoing epidemic of sleepless nights (2,3). Herein I will review some of the issues and some of the currently available biological weapons. The major goal is to highlight the clinical presentations of patients with infections that could be used as biological weapons.
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The Geneva Protocol of 1925 commits the signatory nations to refraining from the use of biological weapons. However, the terrorist assaults of September 2001 and, subsequently, the anthrax-containing letters are cause for great concerns: new threats to the security of nations are expected, as terrorist organizations seem to increasingly explore novel ways of spreading terror. In this context, naturally emerging diseases such as SARS, monkeypox or West Nile fever assume new importance because it is difficult to distinguish between natural epidemics and possible bioweapon assaults. Great efforts on the part of governments and public health authorities are necessary to counteract these threats.
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The histological and electron microscopic findings from a solitary cutaneous monkeypox lesion taken post mortem from a child who died after a five-day illness are reported. This child is 44th in the WHO register of monkeypox cases. The lesion was at the papulonecrotic stage, with early evidence of vesiculation and minimal evidence of pustulation. Necrosis affected the stratum basale, the related basement membrane and adjacent areas of the dermal papillae at the centre of the lesion. Cell necrosis affected the next two or three layers of stratum spinosum above the destroyed stratum basale. Lateral to this zone, marked hyperplasia and intracellular oedema of the stratum spinosum constituted the papule and produced spindle-cell features. In the middle layer of the stratum spinosum, above the necrotic focus, there were minute vesicles and between these were occasional multinuclear giant cells. Bodies similar to Guarnieri bodies (GB) were present in the cytoplasm of sweat duct-lining cells in the epidermis and upper corium. Very scanty similar bodies were evident elsewhere in the papular epidermis but were difficult to distinguish from debris. Granules in the lesion with the same size as mature virions (elementary bodies) have been assessed not to be these because similar granules are present in the normal epidermis. Changes in the dermis apart from those mentioned above were minimal oedema, very mild perivascular infiltration by round cells and an occasional eosinophil. Electron microscopy showed abundant immature and mature orthopoxvirus particles in the cytoplasms of infected epidermal cells. A limited range of histochemical tests is detailed. In general, the features are indistinguishable from the papulonecrotic stage of smallpox (variola) and from tanapox as recorded in man.