Results of decoding the monkeypox virus gene in Ho Chi Minh City

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health has just announced that it has just received the gene decoding results of the first case of domestic monkeypox detected in Ho Chi Minh City from the Emerging Infectious Diseases Research Unit of the Hospital for Tropical Diseases and the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU).

This is the gene decoding result of a 25-year-old male patient in Dong Nai, admitted to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases on September 22, the specimen was a blister swab sample taken on September 28.

The results of decoding the influenza virus gene in Ho Chi Minh City, picture 1 — The monkeypox virus strain in Ho Chi Minh City is a new strain (illustrative photo - internet source).

The team decoded the genome and analyzed the phylogenetic tree. The results showed that the causative agent is the monkeypox virus of genotype C1 of Clade IIb.

Thus, this genotype is similar to new monkeypox virus strains recently discovered in countries such as Japan, Portugal and South Korea.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, the above gene decoding results can conclude that this is a different strain of monkeypox virus from the virus strain with genotype A.2.1 detected in 2 cases entering Vietnam in October 2022 from Dubai.

“With the genetic diversity of the monkeypox virus and further analysis of the genomes of new cases, we will help understand the origin and circulation of the virus, providing useful and timely information for the monkeypox epidemic prevention program,” the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health informed.

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