Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jul;27(28):2200503.
doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.28.2200503.

Frequent detection of monkeypox virus DNA in saliva, semen, and other clinical samples from 12 patients, Barcelona, Spain, May to June 2022

Aida Peiró-Mestres  1 , Irene Fuertes  2 , Daniel Camprubí-Ferrer  1 , María Ángeles Marcos  1   3   4 , Anna Vilella  1   5 , Mireia Navarro  3 , Laura Rodriguez-Elena  3 , Josep Riera  2 , Alba Català  2 , Miguel J Martínez  1   3   4 , Jose L Blanco  4   6 ; Hospital Clinic de Barcelona Monkeypox Study Group  7
Affiliations

Frequent detection of monkeypox virus DNA in saliva, semen, and other clinical samples from 12 patients, Barcelona, Spain, May to June 2022

Aida Peiró-Mestres et al. Euro Surveill. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

A monkeypox (MPX) outbreak has expanded worldwide since May 2022. We tested 147 clinical samples collected at different time points from 12 patients by real-time PCR. MPX DNA was detected in saliva from all cases, sometimes with high viral loads. Other samples were frequently positive: rectal swab (11/12 cases), nasopharyngeal swab (10/12 cases), semen (7/9 cases), urine (9/12 cases) and faeces (8/12 cases). These results improve knowledge on virus shedding and the possible role of bodily fluids in disease transmission.

Keywords: PCR; monkeypox; outbreak; saliva; semen; shedding.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None declared.

References

    1. Mathieu E, Dattani S, Ritchie H, Roser M. Monkeypox. OurWorldInData.org. [Accessed: 11 July 2022]. Available from: https://ourworldindata.org/monkeypox
    1. Adler H, Gould S, Hine P, Snell LB, Wong W, Houlihan CF, et al. Clinical features and management of human monkeypox: a retrospective observational study in the UK. Lancet Infect Dis. 2022;3099(22):1-10. 10.1016/S1473-3099(22)00228-6 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Antinori A, Mazzotta V, Vita S, Carletti F, Tacconi D, Lapini LE, et al. Epidemiological, clinical and virological characteristics of four cases of monkeypox support transmission through sexual contact, Italy, May 2022. Euro Surveill. 2022;27(22):1-6. 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.22.2200421 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fidalgo B, Rubio E, Pastor V, Parera M, Ballesté-Delpierre C, Fernández MJ, et al. Improved diagnosis of gastrointestinal infections using a semi-automated multiplex real-time PCR for detection of enteropathogens. J Med Microbiol. 2021;70(9). 10.1099/jmm.0.001367 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Li Y, Zhao H, Wilkins K, Hughes C, Damon IK. Real-time PCR assays for the specific detection of monkeypox virus West African and Congo Basin strain DNA. J Virol Methods. 2010;169(1):223-7. 10.1016/j.jviromet.2010.07.012 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources