Mbote-SK

Summary

The active and ongoing engagement of the Mbote consortium members in Kamituga is the best window of opportunity to stop the South Kivu outbreak of the new Clade Ib lineage in its tracks and prevent another global outbreak. Similar to Clade IIb, the new Clade Ib lineage harbors the potential to enter into international sexual networks, causing an international epidemic of Clade I MPXV transmitted through sexual contact. Many questions on the research agenda about the transmission of Clade IIb MPXV were addressed by studies conducted during the global outbreak. The same questions about Clade Ib MPXV now need to be addressed.

The overall objective of the MBOTE-SK project is to provide the first comprehensive clinical, epidemiological, and genomic research describing the Clade Ib MPXV outbreak and to use it to inform an effective response.