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. 2022 Sep;27(35):2200636.
doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.35.2200636.

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

Nir Paran  1 , Yfat Yahalom-Ronen  1 , Ohad Shifman  2 , Shirley Lazar  2 , Ronen Ben-Ami  3   4 , Michal Yakubovsky  4 , Itzchak Levy  3   5 , Anat Wieder-Feinsod  3   5 , Sharon Amit  6 , Michal Katzir  3   7 , Noga Carmi-Oren  8 , Ariela Levcovich  8 , Mirit Hershman-Sarafov  9   10 , Alona Paz  9   10 , Rebecca Thomas  11 , Hadas Tamir  1 , Lilach Cherry-Mimran  1 , Noam Erez  1 , Sharon Melamed  1 , Moria Barlev-Gross  1 , Shay Karmi  1 , Boaz Politi  1 , Hagit Achdout  1 , Shay Weiss  1 , Haim Levy  1 , Ofir Schuster  1 , Adi Beth-Din  2 , Tomer Israely  1
Affiliations

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

Nir Paran et al. Euro Surveill. 2022 Sep.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Cq; Monkeypox; PCR; infectivity; pfu; threshold.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Correlation between quantity of viral DNA and infectious virus titre in clinical specimens of MPXV infected patients, Israel, 2022 (n = 43 specimens)
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Quantities of viral DNA and (B) infectious virus titres in paired oropharynx and dermal-lesion specimens from the same MPXV-infected patients, Israel, 2022 (n = 20 specimens)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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