Monkeypox DNA levels correlate with virus infectivity in clinical samples, Israel, 2022

• Published in: Euro surveillance : bulletin européen sur les maladies transmissibles 2022-09, Vol.27 (35), p.1
• Main Authors: Paran, Nir, Yahalom-Ronen, Yfat, Shifman, Ohad, Lazar, Shirley, Ben-Ami, Ronen, Yakubovsky, Michal, Levy, Itzchak, Wieder-Feinsod, Anat, Amit, Sharon, Katzir, Michal, Carmi-Oren, Noga, Levcovich, Ariela, Hershman-Sarafov, Mirit, Paz, Alona, Thomas, Rebecca, Tamir, Hadas, Cherry-Mimran, Lilach, Erez, Noam, Melamed, Sharon, Barlev-Gross, Moria, Karmi, Shay, Politi, Boaz, Achdout, Hagit, Weiss, Shay, Levy, Haim, Schuster, Ofir, Beth-Din, Adi, Israely, Tomer
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA, Viral - analysis; DNA, Viral - genetics; Humans; Israel - epidemiology; Medical diagnosis; Monkeypox virus - genetics; Mpox; Mpox (monkeypox) - diagnosis; Mpox (monkeypox) - epidemiology; Polymerase Chain Reaction - methods; Rapid Communication; Viral infections
• ISSN: 1560-7917; 1025-496X; 1560-7917
• DOI: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.35.2200636

The current monkeypox virus global spread and lack of data regarding clinical specimens' infectivity call for examining virus infectivity, and whether this correlates with results from PCR, the available diagnostic tool. We show strong correlation between viral DNA amount in clinical specimens and virus infectivity toward BSC-1 cell line. Moreover, we define a PCR threshold value (Cq ≥ 35, ≤ 4,300 DNA copies/mL), corresponding to negative viral cultures, which may assist risk-assessment and decision-making regarding protective-measures and guidelines for patients with monkeypox.