Multiple traces of monkeypox detected in non-sewered wastewater with sparse sampling from a densely populated metropolitan area in Asia

The monkeypox virus is excreted in the feces of infected individuals. Therefore, there is an interest in using viral load detection in wastewater for sentinel early surveillance at a community level and as a complementary approach to syndromic surveillance. We collected wastewater from 63 sewered and non-sewered locations in Bangkok city center between May and August 2022. Monkeypox viral DNA copy numbers were quantified using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and confirmed positive by Sanger sequencing. Monkeypox viral DNA was first detected in wastewater from the second week of June 2022, with a mean copy number of 16.4 copies/ml (n = 3). From the first week of July, the number of viral DNA copies increased to a mean copy number of 45.92 copies/ml. Positive samples were Sanger sequenced and confirmed the presence of the monkeypox virus. Our study is the first to detect monkeypox viral DNA in wastewater from various locations within Thailand. Results suggest that this could be a complementary source for detecting viral DNA and predicting upcoming outbreaks.

Development of a Multiepitope Vaccine Against SARS-CoV-2: Immunoinformatics Study

Background

Since the first appearance of SARS-CoV-2 in China in December 2019, the world witnessed the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. Due to the high transmissibility rate of the virus, there is an urgent need to design and develop vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 to prevent more cases affected by the virus.

Objective

A computational approach is proposed for vaccine design against the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein, as the key target for neutralizing antibodies, and envelope (E) protein, which contains a conserved sequence feature.

Methods

We used previously reported epitopes of S protein detected experimentally and further identified a collection of predicted B-cell and major histocompatibility (MHC) class II–restricted T-cell epitopes derived from E proteins with an identical match to SARS-CoV-2 E protein.

Results

The in silico design of our candidate vaccine against the S and E proteins of SARS-CoV-2 demonstrated a high affinity to MHC class II molecules and effective results in immune response simulations.

Conclusions

Based on the results of this study, the multiepitope vaccine designed against the S and E proteins of SARS-CoV-2 may be considered as a new, safe, and efficient approach to combatting the COVID-19 pandemic.