Monkeypox, Biology, Outcome, Transmission and Epidemiology -Prospective Follow-up of High-risk Contacts

With the MBOTE-CONTACT study, a detailed follow-up study of high-risk contacts of mpox patients will be done. The MBOTE-CONTACT study will be nested in the NIH-Funded PALM-007 clinical trial (NCT05559099) and the MBOTE project on mpox transmission. The study will take place in Maniema Province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Participants will be recruited among high-risk contacts of mpox patients included in the PALM-007 trial. Consenting contacts will be either followed daily at the central study site or visited weekly by an outreach team in the community. They will be examined daily for signs and symptoms and asked to provide daily saliva and weekly blood samples for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and/or serology. If participants develop mpox, they are offered treatment and enrollment in the PALM-007 trial.