Serological Evidence of Mpox Virus Infection During Peak Mpox Transmission in New York City, July to August 2022.
Preeti Pathela, Michael B Townsend, Erik J Kopping, Jennifer Tang, Terese Navarra, Lalita Priyamvada, William C Carson, S Satheshkumar Panayampalli, Randal C Fowler, Nang Kyaw, Scott Hughes, Kelly Jamison
Author Information
Preeti Pathela: Bureau of Hepatitis, HIV, and STI, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Queens, New York, USA.
Michael B Townsend: Multinational Mpox Response, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Erik J Kopping: Bureau of the Public Health Laboratory, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, New York, USA.
Jennifer Tang: Bureau of Hepatitis, HIV, and STI, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Queens, New York, USA.
Terese Navarra: Multinational Mpox Response, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Lalita Priyamvada: Multinational Mpox Response, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
William C Carson: Multinational Mpox Response, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
S Satheshkumar Panayampalli: Multinational Mpox Response, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Randal C Fowler: Bureau of the Public Health Laboratory, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, New York, USA.
Nang Kyaw: Epidemic Intelligence Service, Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Scott Hughes: Bureau of the Public Health Laboratory, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, New York, USA.
Kelly Jamison: Bureau of Hepatitis, HIV, and STI, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Queens, New York, USA.
BACKGROUND: The extent to which infections may have been undetected in an epicenter of the 2022 mpox outbreak is unknown. METHODS: A serosurvey (July and August 2022) assessed the seroprevalence and correlates of mpox infection among a diverse sample of asymptomatic patients with no prior mpox diagnoses and no known histories of smallpox or mpox vaccination. We present seropositivity stratified by participant characteristics collected via survey. RESULTS: Two-thirds of 419 participants were cismen (281 of 419), of whom 59.1% (166 of 281) reported sex with men (MSM). The sample also included 109 ciswomen and 28 transgender/gender nonconforming/nonbinary individuals. Overall seroprevalence was 6.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.1%-8.8%); 3.7% among ciswomen (95% CI, 1.0%-9.1%), 7.0% among cismen with only ciswomen partners (95% CI, 2.0%-11.9%), and 7.8% among MSM (95% CI, 3.7%-11.9%). There was little variation in seroprevalence by race/ethnicity, age group, HIV status, or number of recent sex partners. No participants who reported close contact with mpox cases were seropositive. Among participants without recent mpox-like symptoms, 6.3% were seropositive (95% CI, 3.6%-9.0%). CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 1 in 15 vaccine-naive people in our study had antibodies to mpox during the height of the NYC outbreak, indicating the presence of asymptomatic infections that could contribute to ongoing transmission.
