Project description
Rapid response to clade Ib monkeypox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo
In September 2023, a cluster of monkeypox cases in Kamituga, South Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), led to the identification of a new virus, clade Ib. Divergent from previously circulating strains in the DRC, its rapid spread and severe symptoms necessitate accelerated research. The EU-funded JUA KIVU project is already linked with other capacity-building projects in the area and will work with local researchers and authorities on targeted research objectives. These include identifying the source, understanding virus adaptation, characterising the immunological response in selected populations, determining the extent of the outbreak, and investigating the role of co-infections and treatment guidance methods.
Objective
We recently described the novel clade Ib mpox virus from Kamituga, South Kivu, which fast spread in the region and severe symptoms are the reason for the emergency call for mpox research. Further information on its transmission, origin, adaptation, the protective serological response from different population groups, possibilities to improve frontline treatment and possibilities for early detection of the extent of the outbreak is urgently needed to combat the outbreak.
The research proposed here is in close collaboration with local researchers and authorities and linked with already established capacity building projects covering DRC, Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania. We aim to 1) determine the adaptation of the novel clade by performing on-site whole genome sequencing on a unique already available isolate collection covering the duration of the outbreak, 2) identify the origin of this clade by investigating bush meat and hunters, 3) investigate the importance of co-infections and the potential usefulness of real-time metagenomic sequencing treatment guidance, 4) determine the extent of the outbreak by serological and pit latrine surveillance in the cross-border regions of DRC, Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania and 5) determine the specific immunological response to the novel clade from selected populations.
We are uniquely positioned to conduct the proposed research, as we have the necessary technical skills and competences through on-going activities, all ethical permission are in place to investigate mpox as a disease X scenario and we have established collaboration with cross-border health authorities.
We expect to create knowledge on the evolution and epidemiology of the novel clade, information on the expected immune response, and novel methods to perform early warning surveillance and improved treatment including of secondary infections. Almost all data generation and analyses will be performed locally, thus also ensuring capacity building for future epidemics.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologyvirology
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencespublic healthepidemiology
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicineimmunology
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsgenomes
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Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.2.1 - Health Main Programme
Call for proposal
(opens in new window) HORIZON-JU-GH-EDCTP3-2024-Mpox
See other projects for this callFunding Scheme
HORIZON-JU-RIA - HORIZON JU Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinator
3015 GD Rotterdam
Netherlands