Kanji Jamil N, Dieu Paul, Wong Anita, Pabbaraju Kanti, Shokoples Sandra, Smyczek Petra, Gratrix Jennifer, Singh Ameeta E, Charlton Carmen L, Zhou Hong Yuan, Zelyas Nathan, Hinshaw Deena, Tipples Graham
Public Health Laboratory, Alberta Precision Laboratories, Alberta, Canada.
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
J Assoc Med Microbiol Infect Dis Can. 2023 Mar 1;8(1):85-89. doi: 10.3138/jammi-2022-0024. eCollection 2023 Mar.
A multi-country outbreak of monkeypox virus (MPXV) infections was identified by the World Health Organization in May 2022. The western Canadian province of Alberta identified its first case of MPXV in a returning traveller on June 2, 2022. We undertook a retrospective testing exercise to evaluate whether MPXV may have been circulating in the province earlier.
Skin (genital and non-genital) and mucosal lesion swabs submitted for herpes simplex virus (HSV)/varicella zoster virus (VZV)/syphilis testing from male patients attending sexually-transmitted infection clinics across the province of Alberta from January 28 to May 30, 2022 were retrieved from storage. The population tested was selected based on the epidemiology of the current 2022 multi-country MPXV outbreak. Samples underwent viral nucleic acid extraction and testing for the presence of Orthopoxvirus DNA using a commercial real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) kit.
A total of 392 samples (representing 341 unique individuals of median age 31 years) were retrieved. Of them, 349 (89.0%) samples were submitted for HSV/VZV/syphilis testing, 13 (3.3%) for HSV/VZV only, and 30 (7.7%) for syphilis PCR only. None of the 392 samples tested were found to be positive for Orthopoxvirus DNA.
The results of this study indicate that circulation of MPXV in a higher-risk population in Alberta, prior to the first case, was less likely. We recommend that other provinces/territories review their local epidemiology, context and resources prior to conducting similar studies.
2022年5月，世界卫生组织确认了猴痘病毒（MPXV）感染的多国暴发。加拿大西部省份艾伯塔省于2022年6月2日在一名回国旅行者中发现了首例猴痘病例。我们进行了一项回顾性检测，以评估猴痘病毒是否可能更早就在该省传播。
从2022年1月28日至5月30日在艾伯塔省性传播感染诊所就诊的男性患者中，检索提交用于单纯疱疹病毒（HSV）/水痘带状疱疹病毒（VZV）/梅毒检测的皮肤（生殖器和非生殖器）及黏膜病变拭子样本。根据2022年当前多国猴痘暴发的流行病学情况选择检测人群。样本进行病毒核酸提取，并使用商业实时聚合酶链反应（PCR）试剂盒检测正痘病毒DNA的存在情况。
共检索到392份样本（代表341名年龄中位数为31岁的个体）。其中，349份（89.0%）样本提交用于HSV/VZV/梅毒检测，13份（3.3%）仅用于HSV/VZV检测，30份（7.7%）仅用于梅毒PCR检测。392份检测样本中均未发现正痘病毒DNA呈阳性。
本研究结果表明，在首例病例之前，猴痘病毒在艾伯塔省高危人群中传播的可能性较小。我们建议其他省份/地区在开展类似研究之前，先审查当地的流行病学、背景和资源情况。
