The relevance of multiple clinical specimens in the diagnosis of monkeypox virus, Spain, June

A monkeypox virus (MPXV) outbreak has been ongoing worldwide since May 2022. The role of specimens other than skin lesions for MPXV diagnosis is unknown. We evaluated 140 different clinical specimens by real-time PCR. The highest positivity rates (97%) were from skin lesions of any part of the body, followed by plasma, pharyngeal and anal swabs. Testing specimens from multiple sites may improve the sensitivity and reduce false-negative test results.