Longevity of humoral and cellular immunity induced by vaccination against mpox.

Mpox is an emerging disease caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV) that was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) by the World Health Organization in 2022. Increasing evidence indicate that protection and immunogenicity induced by the only currently approved vaccine providing protection against mpox, the Modified Vaccinia Ankara vaccine produced by Bavarian Nordic (MVA-BN), are relatively short-lived, as compared to natural MPXV infection or historical smallpox vaccination. This reduced longevity may increase the risk of breakthrough infection and the need for repeated booster vaccinations. Understanding the immune response to the MVA-BN vaccine and its longevity is required for the development of improved vaccines against mpox. The overall goal of the project is to characterize the longevity of humoral and cellular immune responses induced by MVA-BN vaccination versus MPXV infection.
The specific objectives of the project are:
- Characterize and compare the humoral immune memory at the systemic and mucosal levels in MVA-BN vaccinated and MPXV infected subjects in Belgium;
- Explore the cellular basis of the humoral immune memory induced by MVA-BN vaccination, MPXV infection and smallpox vaccination in Belgian subjects;
- Apply the knowledge acquired in Belgium to the study of the immune responses to MVABN vaccination in patients living with HIV in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).