Mpox Transmission: Mother to Child Evidence
- New evidence underscores the risk of vertical transmission of the mpox virus, prompting renewed calls for vaccination, especially among pregnant women.
- Orthopoxvirus infections can lead to severe health complications and even death, especially in individuals with compromised immune systems.
- Roess, professor of Global Health and Epidemiology at George Mason university, noted that prioritizing mpox vaccination for women with underlying conditions who are planning pregnancy should be considered.
New evidence confirms mpox virus transmission during pregnancy,highlighting the urgent need for vaccination,especially for expectant mothers. Experts detail three cases of clade Ib mpox transmission, intensifying concerns about orthopoxvirus infections. These infections, which in high-risk cases can lead to severe complications, also emphasize the importance of vaccination up to four days post-exposure.Amira A. Roess advocates for prioritizing vaccination for pregnant women with underlying conditions, as resources are finite. The article underscores challenges with global health funding and emphasizes the need to train health providers. According to News Directory 3, healthcare providers have the obligation to protect vulnerable populations. Expect more concerning reports.Discover what’s next …
Mpox Virus Transmission during Pregnancy: Vaccination Urged
Updated June 21, 2025
New evidence underscores the risk of vertical transmission of the mpox virus, prompting renewed calls for vaccination, especially among pregnant women. A recent report highlights three cases of clade Ib mpox transmission, reinforcing concerns previously raised during the smallpox era, another orthopoxvirus.
Orthopoxvirus infections can lead to severe health complications and even death, especially in individuals with compromised immune systems. Two of the three cases examined involved individuals who were HIV positive; the HIV status of the third was not known. In one instance, a pregnancy resulted in a live birth, but the infant was born with congenital mpox.
Amira A. Roess, professor of Global Health and Epidemiology at George Mason university, noted that prioritizing mpox vaccination for women with underlying conditions who are planning pregnancy should be considered. This intervention could effectively reduce the risk of such cases. Though, Roess acknowledged the difficulties in implementing this strategy, as high-risk populations frequently enough face barriers to health care access.
With global health funding becoming increasingly limited, Roess suggests that prioritizing such interventions may prove challenging.She anticipates more cases of vertical transmission and emphasizes the need to train frontline health care providers to identify at-risk populations and advocate for vaccination.
Mark A.Turrentine, MD, can be reached at mark.turrentine@bcm.edu.
Perspective
Roess stated that the evidence of vertical transmission of mpox is consistent with what was seen during the smallpox era. She added that orthopoxvirus infections can lead to severe morbidity and death, especially among immunocompromised individuals.
Roess said that in areas with ongoing mpox transmission, vaccination should be prioritized for women with underlying conditions who are planning to become pregnant.
“During this time when global health funding is increasingly scarce, it is indeed unlikely that such interventions can be prioritized given the myriad of other pressing health priorities.Unfortunately, we should expect to see more such cases. At a minimum, a range of frontline health care providers can be trained to identify populations at risk and advocate for vaccination,” Roess said.
What’s next
Health officials are urged to train frontline health care providers to identify at-risk populations and promote mpox vaccination to mitigate the potential for more cases of vertical transmission.