Addressing Critical Gaps in mpox epidemiology in DRC - The MOVIE and TRACE studies

This proposal outlines two linked studies aimed at addressing the public health challenge of Mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The MOVIE study focuses on understanding the kinetics of viral elimination shedding light on how MPXV interacts with host tissues and immune defences, which is crucial for developing containment strategies and potentially influencing endpoint selection in therapeutic trials. The TRACE study aims to determine secondary attack rates in MPXV outbreaks, assessing host susceptibility within specific populations, offering vital data to target interventions towards vulnerable groups and informing vaccine efforts by contributing to the assessment of vaccine efficacy endpoints.