Co-circulation of monkeypox virus subclades Ia and Ib in Kinshasa Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, July to August 2024

Tony Wawina-Bokalanga; Prince Akil-Bandali; Eddy Kinganda-Lusamaki; Emmanuel Lokilo; Daan Jansen; Adrienne Amuri-Aziza; Jean-Claude Makangara-Cigolo; Elisabeth Pukuta-Simbu; Rilia Ola-Mpumbe; Mamito Muyembe; Cris Kacita; Princesse Paku-Tshambu; Pedro Hlf Dantas; Olivier Tshiani-Mbaya; Gradi Luakanda; Antoine Nkuba-Ndaye; Meris Matondo; Emmanuel Hasivirwe Vakaniaki; Sofonias Tessema; Nicaise Ndembi; Áine O'Toole; Tessa De Block; Christian Ngandu; Nicole A Hoff; Nicola Low; Lorenzo Subissi; Sydney Merritt; Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum; Laurens Liesenborghs; Martine Peeters; Eric Delaporte; Jason Kindrachuk; Anne W Rimoin; Steve Ahuka-Mundeke; Andrew Rambaut; Dieudonné Mwamba; Koen Vercauteren; Placide Mbala-Kingebeni

doi:10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.38.2400592

Co-circulation of monkeypox virus subclades Ia and Ib in Kinshasa Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, July to August 2024

Euro Surveill. 2024 Sep;29(38):2400592. doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.38.2400592.

Authors

Tony Wawina-Bokalanga^{1

2

3}, Prince Akil-Bandali¹, Eddy Kinganda-Lusamaki^{1

2

4}, Emmanuel Lokilo¹, Daan Jansen³, Adrienne Amuri-Aziza¹, Jean-Claude Makangara-Cigolo^{1

2

5}, Elisabeth Pukuta-Simbu¹, Rilia Ola-Mpumbe¹, Mamito Muyembe¹, Cris Kacita⁶, Princesse Paku-Tshambu¹, Pedro Hlf Dantas³, Olivier Tshiani-Mbaya^{1

2}, Gradi Luakanda¹, Antoine Nkuba-Ndaye^{1

2}, Meris Matondo^{1

2}, Emmanuel Hasivirwe Vakaniaki^{1

3}, Sofonias Tessema⁷, Nicaise Ndembi⁷, Áine O'Toole⁸, Tessa De Block³, Christian Ngandu⁶, Nicole A Hoff⁹, Nicola Low¹⁰, Lorenzo Subissi¹¹, Sydney Merritt⁹, Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum^{1

2}, Laurens Liesenborghs^{12

3}, Martine Peeters⁴, Eric Delaporte⁴, Jason Kindrachuk¹³, Anne W Rimoin⁹, Steve Ahuka-Mundeke^{1

2}, Andrew Rambaut⁸, Dieudonné Mwamba⁶, Koen Vercauteren^{14

3}, Placide Mbala-Kingebeni^{1

14

2}

Affiliations

¹ Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB), Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
² Service de Microbiologie, Département de Biologie Médicale, Cliniques Universitaires de Kinshasa, Université de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
³ Department of Clinical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.
⁴ TransVIHMI, Université de Montpellier, INSERM, IRD, Montpellier, France.
⁵ Graduate School of Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
⁶ Institut National de Santé Publique (INSP), Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
⁷ Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
⁸ Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
⁹ Department of Epidemiology, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
¹⁰ Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
¹¹ World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
¹² Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
¹³ Department of Medical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
¹⁴ These authors contributed equally to this work and share last authorship.

PMID: 39301745
PMCID: PMC11484285
DOI: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.38.2400592

Abstract

Between January and August 2024, mpox cases have been reported in nearly all provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Monkeypox virus genome sequences were obtained from 11 mpox cases' samples, collected in July-August 2024 in several health zones of Kinshasa. Characterisation of the sequences showed subclades Ia and Ib co-circulating in the Limete health zone, while phylogenetic analyses suggested multiple introductions of the two subclades in Kinshasa. This illustrates the growing complexity of Clade I mpox outbreaks in DRC.

Keywords: Clade I; Co-circulation; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Kinshasa; Monkeypox virus (MPXV); Mpox; public health policy; surveillance.

MeSH terms

Democratic Republic of the Congo / epidemiology
Disease Outbreaks*
Genome, Viral
Humans
Male
Monkeypox virus* / genetics
Monkeypox virus* / isolation & purification
Mpox (monkeypox)* / epidemiology
Mpox (monkeypox)* / virology
Phylogeny*
RNA, Viral / genetics
Sequence Analysis, DNA

Substances

RNA, Viral

Abstract

MeSH terms

Substances

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