article · Viruses
Surveillance of small mammals was conducted near Boende in Tshuapa Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, across 2012, 2013, and 2015 to assess monkeypox and other orthopoxvirus infections. Researchers sampled 353 animals, including rodents, shrews, pangolins, elephant shrews, a potamogale, and a hyrax, captured in local houses, forests, and agricultural zones. Testing via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay revealed that seven animals, representing 2.0 percent of the sample, carried anti-orthopoxvirus antibodies. These positive cases comprised six rodents from diverse genera and one elephant shrew. Polymerase chain reaction assays detected no active viral DNA among the sampled mammals. These findings demonstrate that multiple wild mammal species experience orthopoxvirus infections, indicating that future health education and disease tracking should prioritise animals that people encounter regularly, especially larger rodents hunted for dietary protein.
Identifying which animal species encounter orthopoxviruses helps clarify potential pathways for viral transmission from wildlife to humans. Determining that multiple rodent species and elephant shrews carry antibodies assists public health teams in directing disease monitoring. It also aids in developing community education strategies targeted at people who regularly hunt, handle, or consume forest animals in regions where human monkeypox occurs.
The abstract does not indicate a direct commercialisation pathway. The findings represent early-stage epidemiological baseline data that public health organisations, wildlife surveillance initiatives, and diagnostic developers could use to target high-risk animal reservoirs for monitoring programmes and preventive health campaigns.
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During 2012, 2013 and 2015, we collected small mammals within 25 km of the town of Boende in Tshuapa Province, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The prevalence of monkeypox virus (MPXV) in this area is unknown; however, cases of human infection were previously confirmed near these collection sites. Samples were collected from 353 mammals (rodents, shrews, pangolins, elephant shrews, a potamogale, and a hyrax). Some rodents and shrews were captured from houses where human monkeypox cases have recently been identified, but most were trapped in forests and agricultural areas near villages. Real-time PCR and ELISA were used to assess evidence of MPXV infection and other <i>Orthopoxvirus</i> (OPXV) infections in these small mammals. Seven (2.0%) of these animal samples were found to be anti-orthopoxvirus immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody positive (six rodents: two <i>Funisciurus</i> spp.; one <i>Graphiurus lorraineus</i>; one <i>Cricetomys emini</i>; one <i>Heliosciurus</i> sp.; one <i>Oenomys hypoxanthus</i>, and one elephant shrew <i>Petrodromus tetradactylus</i>); no individuals were found positive in PCR-based assays. These results suggest that a variety of animals can be infected with OPXVs, and that epidemiology studies and educational campaigns should focus on animals that people are regularly contacting, including larger rodents used as protein sources.
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DOI: 10.3390/v9100283
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