Link between Monkeypox Virus Genomes from Museum Specimens and 1965 Zoo Outbreak

Emerg Infect Dis. 2024 Apr;30(4):816-818. doi: 10.3201/eid3004.231546.

Abstract

We used pathogen genomics to test orangutan specimens from a museum in Bonn, Germany, to identify the origin of the animals and the circumstances of their death. We found monkeypox virus genomes in the samples and determined that they represent cases from a 1965 outbreak at Rotterdam Zoo in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Keywords: Austria; Disease Outbreaks; Genomics; Germany; Monkeypox virus; Phylogeny; Pongo; Rotterdam; Zoonosis; mpox; orangutan; the Netherlands; viruses.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Disease Outbreaks
  • Genomics
  • Germany / epidemiology
  • Monkeypox virus*
  • Mpox, Monkeypox
  • Museums*