A compilation answering 50 questions on monkeypox virus and the current monkeypox outbreak.

The current monkeypox disease (MPX) outbreak constitutes a new threat and challenge for our society. With more than 55,000 confirmed cases in 103 countries, World Health Organization declared the ongoing MPX outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on July 23, 2022. The current MPX outbreak is the largest, most widespread, and most serious since the diagnosis of the first case of MPX in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a country where MPX is an endemic disease. Throughout history, there have only been sporadic and self-limiting outbreaks of MPX outside Africa, with a total of 58 cases described from 2003 to 2021. This figure contrasts with the current outbreak of 2022, in which more than 55,000 cases have been confirmed in just 4 months. MPX is, in most cases, self-limiting; however, severe clinical manifestations and complications have been reported. Complications are usually related to the extent of virus exposure and patient health status, generally affecting children, pregnant women, and immunocompromised patients. The expansive nature of the current outbreak leaves many questions that the scientific community should investigate and answer in order to understand this phenomenon better and prevent new threats in the future. In this review, 50 questions regarding monkeypox virus (MPXV) and the current MPX outbreak were answered in order to provide the most updated scientific information and to explore the potential causes and consequences of this new health threat.

High Diagnostic Accuracy of a Novel Lateral Flow Assay for the Point-of-Care Detection of SARS-CoV-2.

Highly accurate lateral flow immunochromatographic tests (LFTs) are an important public health tool to tackle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess the comparative diagnostic performance of the novel ND COVID-19 LFT under real-world conditions. A total of 400 nasopharyngeal swab specimens with a wide range of viral loads were tested in both reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and ND LFT. The overall sensitivity and specificity were 85% (95% CI: 76.7-90.7%) and 100% (95% CI: 98.7-100%), respectively. There was a clear association between the false-negative rate and sample viral load: the sensitivity parameters for specimens with cycle threshold values of <25 (>3.95 × 106 copies/mL) and ≥30 (≤1.29 × 105 copies/mL) were 100% and 50%, respectively. The performance was maximized in testing samples with viral loads ≥1.29 × 105 copies/mL. These findings suggest that the ND LFT is sufficiently accurate and useful for mass population screening programs, especially in high-prevalence and resource-constrained settings or during periods when the epidemic curve is rising. Other public health implications were also discussed.

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in a Large Cohort of Italian Police Officers.

Certain professional categories are at a high occupational exposure to COVID-19. The aim of this survey was to quantify the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 among police officers in Italy and identify its correlates. In this cross-sectional study, a nationally representative sample of State police employees was tested for IgG and IgM before the start of the National vaccination campaign. A total of 10,535 subjects (approximately 10% of the total workforce) participated in the study. The overall seroprevalence was 4.8% (95% CI: 4.4-5.3%). However, seropositivity was unevenly distributed across the country with a clear (p < 0.001) North-South gradient. In particular, the seroprevalence was 5.6 times higher in northern regions than in southern regions (9.0% vs. 1.6%). Most (71.2%) seropositive subjects reported having no recent symptoms potentially attributable to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Previous dysosmia, dysgeusia, and influenza-like illness symptoms were positive predictors of being seropositive. However, the prognostic value of dysosmia depended (p < 0.05) on both sex and prior influenza-like illness. The baseline seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in police employees is considerable. A significant risk of occupational exposure, frequent asymptomatic cases and the progressive waning of neutralizing antibodies suggest that the police workers should be considered among the job categories prioritized for the booster COVID-19 vaccine dose.