Mpox virus transmissible from mother to child during pregnancy

Mpox had previously been linked to pregnancy complications, but evidence of mother-to-child transmission had been limited until now. This study adds mpox to the list of viruses that can affect the foetus, such as the rubella virus (which causes rubella), the varicella virus (which causes chickenpox) and the Zika virus.

This has important consequences, because in the current outbreak of the Clade Ib variant in the DRC, which is mainly spread through sexual contact, young women are very often infected. This increases the number of infections among pregnant women.

Professor Placide Mbala-Kingebeni, head of the Epidemiology and Global Health Department at INRB, emphasises the urgency: "Every day, women are at risk of infection. We must take urgent action to better protect them and, in the event of pregnancy, their unborn children. It is also crucial to contain the outbreak in large parts of the DRC, including Kinshasa. Vaccination and safe, effective treatments are urgently needed."

Funding

The study was funded by the Belgian Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP3) and the Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO).

ITM and INRB have been collaborating on mpox research for many years. With support from the Belgian Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, they were able to identify the new virus variant, a breakthrough that contributed to the declaration of an international health crisis. This gave impetus to large-scale vaccination campaigns in the DRC. Belgium is supporting the INRB and ITM in administering vaccines to 10,000 vulnerable patients, while also investigating how effective the vaccines are in people with multiple co-morbidities.