Implementing wastewater and environmental surveillance for Mpox in Sub-Saharan Africa (ODIN-MPox)

Mpox, a re-emerging viral zoonotic disease, has recently posed significant public health challenges in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The disease has led to thousands of suspected cases and hundreds of deaths, prompting the DRC Ministry of Health to declare a Public Health Emergency in April 2024. Given the rapid spread and high fatality rate of the outbreak, a coordinated research response is urgently needed to understand and mitigate this public health threat. Mpox's emergence as a significant public health threat in sub-Saharan Africa aligns with Project ODIN's core objective of addressing critical infectious pathogens through genomic surveillance and wastewater-based epidemiology. Building upon the successful foundation of Project ODIN, this proposal aims to implement a comprehensive water genomic surveillance system specifically targeting the Mpox outbreak in the DRC and neighboring countries. By leveraging advanced genomic surveillance and wastewater-based epidemiology, this initiative will provide novel, critical, and timely insights into the presence and spread of the Mpox virus in the environment. This information will guide targeted public health interventions, such as targeted vaccination campaigns and resource allocation to high-risk areas. Additionally, the approach will enable the early detection of the Mpox virus in water sources, allowing for rapid public health interventions to prevent further transmission. The project will identify Mpox virus sublineages with the highest impact on case numbers and fit them into a global context, providing evidence of international sublineages that likely emerged or spread early in the DRC and neighboring countries. This data will be crucial not only in addressing the immediate outbreak but also in contributing to building global public health strategies and preparedness for future outbreaks by gaining a deeper understanding of the Mpox virus itself.