Monkeypox virus phylogenetic similarities between a human case detected in Cameroon in 2018 and the 2017-2018 outbreak in Nigeria

Serge Alain Sadeuh-Mba (1) , Martial Gide Yonga (1) , Mathieu Els (2) , Christophe Batejat (3) , Sara Eyangoh (1) , Valérie Caro (3) , Alain Etoundi (2) , Elisabeth Carniel (1) , Richard Njouom (1)

1 Centre Pasteur du Cameroun
2 Ministère de la Santé Publique [Yaoundé, Cameroun]
3 CIBU - Cellule d'Intervention Biologique d'Urgence - Laboratory for Urgent Response to Biological Threats

A monkeypox virus was detected from a human clinical case in 2018 in Cameroon; a country where no human cases were reported since 1989. The virus exhibited close genetic relatedness with another monkeypox virus isolated in Nigeria during the 2017-2018 outbreak. Although our molecular findings argue in favor of an extension of the monkeypox outbreak from Nigeria into Cameroon, the possibility that the monkeypox virus detected could be indigenous to Cameroon cannot be ruled out.

Mots clés: Cameroon; Monkeypox virus; Phylogenetic relationships; West African clade

Domaines: Maladies infectieuses

Serge Alain Sadeuh-Mba, Martial Gide Yonga, Mathieu Els, Christophe Batejat, Sara Eyangoh, et al.. Monkeypox virus phylogenetic similarities between a human case detected in Cameroon in 2018 and the 2017-2018 outbreak in Nigeria. Infection, Genetics and Evolution, 2019, 69, pp.8-11. ⟨10.1016/j.meegid.2019.01.006⟩. ⟨pasteur-02921783⟩