About
In 2022 and again in 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern”(PHEIC) due to the emergence of subclades of the monkeypox virus (MPXV), their spread to previously unaffected regions and countries—including urban areas—and sustained human-to-human transmission, including sexual transmission. Millions of doses of vaccines (attenuated forms of the smallpox vaccine that confer cross-protection against MPXV) will be distributed to the most affected African countries to curb the epidemic. There is an urgent need for scientific data to better guide vaccination strategies and identify the populations to prioritize for vaccination.
The VAXPOX project brings together several teams of the Institut Pasteur Paris (IPP) and 6 institutes of the Pasteur Network (PN) in sub-Saharan Africa, for a research project aiming to contribute to the response to the mpox epidemics on the rise on the African continent since summer 2024. This project aims to inform public health policies as vaccines become available, through a multidisciplinary approach combining epidemiology, serology, molecular virology, anthropology, and mathematical modeling. Beyond contributing to the response to the PHEIC declared by the WHO, the VAXPOX project will strengthen the capacities of PN Africa institutes regarding methods and technologies that are crucial for responding to infectious threats.
Objectives
The VAXPOX project aims to inform public health policies as vaccines become available, through a multidisciplinary approach over a two-year period: (i) identifying groups most at risk of MPXV infection through seroprevalence surveys, (ii) assessing vaccine acceptability in target populations, (iii) describing chains of human-to-human transmission around confirmed cases, notably through viral genome analysis, (iv) developing mathematical models describing the circulation of MPXV, and (v) evaluating the cost-effectiveness of different vaccination strategies.
The VAXPOX project will be implemented in six African countries that host a Pasteur Network institute, with the support of the Institut Pasteur in Paris. Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, and the Central African Republic have seen a marked increase in mpox cases in recent years, due to different MPXV clades, ensuring that the project will capture a variety of epidemiological contexts. Guinea, Madagascar, and Niger have never (or only rarely) reported mpox cases, but this situation could change in the coming years. Their participation in this project will make it possible to establish baseline data through seroprevalence surveys.
Fundings
Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)
ANRS / MIE
Partners
- Pasteur Institute Bangui
- Pasteur Institute Cameroon
- Pasteur Institute Guinea
- Pasteur Institute Ivory Coast
- Pasteur Institute Madagascar
- Cermes Niger