Mpox secrets revealed: new study tracks virus clearance and transmission

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * MOVIE Study: * Individuals of any sex and age presenting with lesions clinically suggestive of Mpox, as assessed by a trained health worker. * Symptom onset within the 10 days prior to the baseline assessment. * Willingness and ability to comply with study procedures and attend scheduled follow-up visits for up to two months. * Availability for follow-up throughout the study period. * Provision of written informed consent by the participant, or consent by a legally authorized representative for minors or individuals unable to provide it themselves. * Assent obtained from children aged 12 years or older. * For participants who cannot read or write, witnessed consent will be obtained. * TRACE Study: * Individuals who have had close physical contact with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed Mpox case within 14 days from the onset of symptoms in the index case. * Close physical contact is defined as being within 2 meters of an infected person-particularly in enclosed spaces-for at least 5 minutes (based on CDC's 2-meter rule for droplet transmission). * Willingness and ability to comply with the study protocol and attend scheduled follow-up assessments. * Provision of written informed consent by the participant, or consent by a legally authorized representative for individuals unable to provide it themselves. Exclusion Criteria: * MOVIE Study: * Cases of severe Mpox requiring hospitalization. * Individuals with a confirmed alternative diagnosis explaining their illness. * Prior vaccination against Mpox. * Individuals over 40 years of age who report having received smallpox vaccination during infancy. * TRACE Study: * Prior vaccination against Mpox. * Individuals over 40 years of age who report having received smallpox vaccination during infancy.