TY - JOUR
T1 - Mpox outbreak in the Netherlands, 2022
T2 - public health response, characteristics of the first 1,000 cases and protection of the first-generation smallpox vaccine
AU - van Ewijk, Catharina E.
AU - Dutch Mpox Response Team
AU - Miura, Fuminari
AU - van Rijckevorsel, Gini
AU - de Vries, Henry Jc
AU - Welkers, Matthijs Ra
AU - van den Berg, Oda E.
AU - Friesema, Ingrid Hm
AU - van den Berg, Patrick R.
AU - Dalhuisen, Thomas
AU - Wallinga, Jacco
AU - Brandwagt, Diederik
AU - van Cleef, Brigitte Agl
AU - Vennema, Harry
AU - Voordouw, Bettie
AU - Koopmans, Marion
AU - Members of the Dutch Mpox Response Team
AU - van der Eijk, Annemiek A.
AU - Swaan, Corien M.
AU - te Wierik, Margreet Jm
AU - Leenstra, Tjalling
AU - op de Coul, Eline
AU - Franz, Eelco
AU - de Stoppelaar, S.F.
N1 - Funding Information: The study was funded by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). All rights reserved.
PY - 2023/3/1
Y1 - 2023/3/1
N2 - In early May 2022, a global outbreak of mpox started among persons without travel history to regions known to be enzootic for monkeypox virus (MPXV). On 8 August 2022, the Netherlands reported its 1,000th mpox case, representing a cumulative incidence of 55 per million population, one of the highest cumulative incidences worldwide. We describe characteristics of the first 1,000 mpox cases in the Netherlands, reported between 20 May and 8 August 2022, within the context of the public health response. These cases were predominantly men who have sex with men aged 31-45 years. The vast majority of infections were acquired through sexual contact with casual partners in private or recreational settings including LGBTQIA+ venues in the Netherlands. This indicates that, although some larger upsurges occurred from point-source and/or travel-related events, the outbreak was mainly characterised by sustained transmission within the Netherlands. In addition, we estimated the protective effect of first-generation smallpox vaccine against moderate/severe mpox and found a vaccine effectiveness of 58% (95% CI: 17-78%), suggesting moderate protection against moderate/severe mpox symptoms on top of any possible protection by this vaccine against MPXV infection and disease. Communication with and supporting the at-risk population in following mitigation measures remains essential.
AB - In early May 2022, a global outbreak of mpox started among persons without travel history to regions known to be enzootic for monkeypox virus (MPXV). On 8 August 2022, the Netherlands reported its 1,000th mpox case, representing a cumulative incidence of 55 per million population, one of the highest cumulative incidences worldwide. We describe characteristics of the first 1,000 mpox cases in the Netherlands, reported between 20 May and 8 August 2022, within the context of the public health response. These cases were predominantly men who have sex with men aged 31-45 years. The vast majority of infections were acquired through sexual contact with casual partners in private or recreational settings including LGBTQIA+ venues in the Netherlands. This indicates that, although some larger upsurges occurred from point-source and/or travel-related events, the outbreak was mainly characterised by sustained transmission within the Netherlands. In addition, we estimated the protective effect of first-generation smallpox vaccine against moderate/severe mpox and found a vaccine effectiveness of 58% (95% CI: 17-78%), suggesting moderate protection against moderate/severe mpox symptoms on top of any possible protection by this vaccine against MPXV infection and disease. Communication with and supporting the at-risk population in following mitigation measures remains essential.
KW - MSM
KW - Mpox
KW - outbreak
KW - the Netherlands
KW - zoonoses
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85151042801&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.12.2200772
DO - https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.12.2200772
M3 - Article
C2 - 36951783
SN - 1025-496X
VL - 28
JO - Euro surveillance
JF - Euro surveillance
IS - 12
M1 - 2200772
ER -