Pox virus articles from across Nature Portfolio

The vaccinia virus produces mRNA lacking the 5′ m⁷G cap structure. These uncapped mRNAs have long poly(A) leaders and dominate late in infection, suggesting a novel viral strategy for host takeover.

This study establishes MPXV clade IIb-infected SCID mouse models presenting with pneumonia, lesions, and localized inflammation that recapitulate key clinical manifestations observed in high-risk populations, and demonstrates that the timing of treatment initiation and the stage of disease progression critically influence the anti-MPXV efficacy of both tecovirimat and cidofovir.

The recent global mpox outbreaks underscore the critical need for antiviral development, hindered by the complexity of the MPXV genome. Using yeast TAR cloning, CRISPR-Cas9, and Lambda Red recombination to engineer replication-defective MPXV, the authors offer a platform for therapeutic research and identify G243-1720, a compound with a tecovirimat-like mechanism, as a promising anti-poxvirus compound.

Recent MPXV outbreaks underscore the need for better vaccines and treatments. Here, the authors isolate and structurally characterize potent antibodies interacting with A28 that they identify as a key viral surface protein essential for viral entry and that induces strong, protective antibody response in mice.

The 2022 global mpox outbreak underscored the challenge of distinguishing between monkeypox virus infection and vaccination-induced immunity due to cross-reactive antibodies. Here, the authors develop a machine learning-assisted serological assay that differentiates MPXV infection from vaccination, achieving 88% specificity and 92% sensitivity, paving the way for seroepidemiological studies with improved resolution.

We propose a new nomenclature for mpox virus lineages with sustained human-to-human transmission to improve tracking, communication and public health response.

The human interaction with mpox has changed across its entire endemic range, revealing the endemic and pandemic risk of monkeypox virus and the current knowledge gaps on its biology that hamper virus control.

An increasing number of countries in Africa are reporting cases of mpox, prompting the World Health Organization to declare it a public health emergency of international concern.

A new study identified two distinct lineages of monkeypox virus (MPXV) in the United States with evidence of genome editing by host apolipoprotein B editing complex (APOBEC3) cytosine deaminase, which might be accelerating MPXV evolution.

A recent study investigated viral loads in clinical samples with the aim of understanding the distribution of monkeypox virus in the human body and how this distribution may be influencing viral transmission

The ongoing monkeypox outbreak in non-endemic countries is likely to be a consequence of the failure to curtail the spread of the disease in endemic regions of Africa despite decades of constant outbreaks. A globally driven one health approach to prevention and treatment of the disease is essential to control present and future outbreaks.