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The following is a summary of “Potential determinants of the decline in mpox cases in Belgium: A behavioral, epidemiological and seroprevalence study,” published in the September 2024 issue of Infectious Disease by Vos et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to investigate the epidemiological, behavioral, and immunological factors behind the epidemic’s decline that peaked in Belgium and Europe in 2022.
They examined the temporal changes in the characteristics and behavior of patients with mpox using national surveillance data from a prospective registry of patients with mpox at the Institute of Tropical Medicine (Antwerp). Behavioral changes in at-risk populations through a survey among users of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), along with the seroprevalence of anti-orthopoxvirus antibodies among users of HIV-PrEP at four different time points in 2022, were determined.
The results showed patients diagnosed at the end of the epidemic had less sexual risk behavior as compared to those diagnosed earlier; they engaged less in sex at mass events, had fewer sexual partners, and were less likely to belong to the sexual network’s central group. Among users of HIV-PrEP, there were no notable changes in sexual behavior. Anti-orthopoxvirus seroprevalence did not notably increase before the start of national vaccination campaigns.
They concluded the group immunity and behavior in the population were at greater risk of exposure to mpox and appeared insufficient to explain the waning of the mpox epidemic. A change in the profile of mpox patients might have contributed to the decline in cases.
Source: ijidonline.com/article/S1201-9712(24)00203-0/fulltext#%20
