Mpox: Understanding the Threat and Strengthening Prevention with the KRAKEN™
Mpox is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus, a member of the Orthopoxvirus genus. Once considered a rare disease confined to certain regions of Africa, mpox has spread globally since 2022, causing outbreaks in multiple countries and highlighting its potential to affect anyone, anywhere (WHO,2025).
What is Mpox and How It Spreads
Mpox can spread in several ways:
Person-to-Person Transmission: The virus spreads mainly through close contact — skin-to-skin (touching, sex), mouth-to-mouth, or mouth-to-skin contact (kissing). It can also spread through respiratory droplets when people are in close proximity. During the 2022 global outbreak, most transmission occurred through sexual contact.
Environmental Transmission: Mpox can survive on contaminated surfaces such as bedding, towels, clothing, and electronics. Touching these objects and then touching one’s mouth, nose, eyes, or broken skin can result in infection.
Animal-to-Human Transmission: Contact with infected animals (such as some monkeys or rodents) through bites, scratches, hunting, or preparing undercooked meat can introduce the virus to humans.
Vertical Transmission: The virus can also pass from a pregnant person to a fetus, during birth, or after birth through close contact.
People are considered infectious from the onset of symptoms until all lesions have healed, scabs have fallen off, and new skin has formed, which typically takes 2–4 weeks. New evidence suggests some people may even spread the virus 1–4 days before symptoms appear.
Symptoms and Complications
After an incubation period of 3–17 days, people with mpox may first experience fever, chills, fatigue, headache, and swollen lymph nodes. Within a few days, a characteristic rash appears, often on the face, hands, feet, genitals, or inside the mouth. The rash progresses through several stages — from spots to blisters to scabs — before healing.
Most cases resolve on their own with supportive care, but severe disease can occur, especially in children, pregnant people, and those with weakened immune systems (including untreated HIV). Severe mpox may involve widespread lesions, secondary bacterial infections, pneumonia, myocarditis, encephalitis, or eye complications that can threaten vision.
The case fatality rate ranges from 0.1% to 10%, depending on access to care and immune status (CDC, 2025).
Why Controlling Mpox is Challenging
Mpox is difficult to contain because people may be contagious before they realize they are sick, and the virus can persist on surfaces for extended periods. Social stigma can also discourage early testing and isolation, allowing hidden transmission chains to spread within communities.
How the KRAKEN™ System Could Help
The KRAKEN™ system is a powerful tool for early detection and outbreak prevention, offering real-time surveillance that could significantly reduce the spread of mpox:
Early Warning Before Symptoms Appear: Because mpox can spread even before visible symptoms develop, waiting for patients to present at clinics delays containment. KRAKEN™ continuously screens wastewater and environmental samples, detecting viral DNA faster than human case reporting. This means health authorities can respond days earlier — a critical advantage for a disease with a 3–17 day incubation period.
Identifying Silent Transmission Chains: Deploying KRAKEN™ units in key health zones, cities, or high-risk facilities (such as shelters, dormitories, or sexual health clinics) can reveal hidden community transmission and trigger targeted testing campaigns before cases surge.
Data-Driven Outbreak Response: KRAKEN™ automatically uploads results to a secure dashboard, giving public health teams the ability to pinpoint hot spots, prioritize disinfection efforts, and distribute antivirals or vaccines where they are needed most.
Reducing Severe Cases and Deaths: Earlier detection means infected individuals can receive care sooner, potentially reducing complications like pneumonia or encephalitis — and lowering the risk of onward transmission.
By combining digital surveillance with traditional contact tracing and clinical care, KRAKEN™ can help break transmission chains and prevent mpox from escalating into large outbreaks.
The Bottom Line
Mpox is no longer a rare disease confined to one part of the world — it’s a global public health challenge. Understanding how it spreads and investing in innovative early detection tools like KRAKEN™ can help us stay ahead of the virus, protect vulnerable populations, and stop outbreaks before they grow.
