Genomics reveals zoonotic and sustained human mpox spread in West Africa
Abstract
Abstract Five years before the 2022 multi-country mpox outbreak, Nigeria and Cameroon reported their first cases in more than three decades1,2. Whereas the outbreak in Nigeria is recognized as an ongoing human epidemic, the drivers of the resurgence in Cameroon remain unclear3,4. The rate of zoonoses remains uncertain in both countries, and gaps in genomic data obscure the timing and zoonotic and geographic origin of monkeypox virus (MPXV) emergence in humans. Here, to address these uncertainties, we sequenced 118 MPXV genomes isolated from cases in Nigeria and Cameroon between 2018 and 2023. We show that in contrast to cases in Nigeria, cases in Cameroon are the result of repeated zoonoses, with two distinct zoonotic lineages circulating across the Nigeria–Cameroon border. Our findings suggest that shared animal populations in the cross-border forest ecosystems drive the emergence and spread of the virus. Accordingly, we identify the closest zoonotic outgroup to the Nigerian human epidemic lineage (hMPXV-1) in a southern Nigerian border state. We estimate that the shared ancestor of the zoonotic outgroup and hMPXV-1 circulated in animals in southern Nigeria in late 2013. We find that hMPXV-1 emerged in humans in August 2014 in the southern Rivers State and circulated undetected for three years. Rivers State was the main source of viral spread during the human epidemic. Our study sheds light on the recent establishment of MPXV in the human population and highlights the risk of persistent zoonotic emergence of MPXV in the complex border regions of Cameroon and Nigeria.
Article Details
Authors (62)
Edyth Parker
Ifeanyi F. Omah
Delia Doreen Djuicy
Andrew Magee
Christopher H. Tomkins-Tinch
James Richard Otieno
Patrick Varilly
Akeemat Opeyemi Ayinla
Ayotunde E. Sijuwola
Muhammad I. Ahmed
Oludayo O. Ope-Ewe
Olusola Akinola Ogunsanya
Alhaji Olono
Femi Mudasiru Saibu
Philomena Eromon
Moïse Henri Moumbeket Yifomnjou
Loique Landry Messanga Essengue
Martial Gides Wansi Yonga
Gael Dieudonné Essima
Ibrahim Pascal Touoyem
Landry Jules Mouliem Mounchili
Sara Irene Eyangoh
Alain Georges Mballa Etoundi
Linda Esso
Inès Mandah Emah Nguidjol
Steve Franck Metomb
Cornelius Chebo
Samuel Mbah Agwe
Hans Makembe Mossi
Chanceline Ndongo Bilounga
Olusola Akanbi
Abiodun Egwuenu
Odianosen Ehiakhamen
Chimaobi Chukwu
Kabiru Suleiman
Afolabi Akinpelu
Adama Ahmad
Khadijah Isa Imam
Richard Ojedele
Victor Oripenaye
Kenneth Ikeata
Sophiyah Adelakun
Babatunde Olajumoke
Áine O’Toole
Mark Zeller
Karthik Gangavarapu
Daniel J. Park
Gerald Mboowa
Sofonias Kifle Tessema
Yenew Kebede Tebeje
Onikepe Folarin
Anise Happi
Philippe Lemey
Marc A. Suchard
Kristian G. Andersen
Pardis Sabeti
Andrew Rambaut
Chikwe Ihekweazu
Idris Jide
Ifedayo Adetifa
Richard Njouom
Christian T. Happi