Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40928872›Full record

ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2025

Relationship dynamics and behavioral adaptations in the control of the 2022 mpox epidemic.

Ulrik Hvid, Lone Simonsen, Morten Frisch, Kim Sneppen

Erratum issuedAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Mechanics of pandemics.EClinicalMedicine · 2026
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Ulrik HvidPandemiX - Center for Interdisciplinary Study of Pandemic Signatures, Copenhagen 2300, Denmark.ORCID 0009-0009-5863-2012
Lone SimonsenPandemiX - Center for Interdisciplinary Study of Pandemic Signatures, Copenhagen 2300, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0003-1535-8526
Morten FrischDepartment of Epidemiology Research, Project SEXUS Group, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen 2300, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0002-3864-8860
Kim SneppenPandemiX - Center for Interdisciplinary Study of Pandemic Signatures, Copenhagen 2300, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0001-9820-3567

Funding

Danish National Research Foundation DNRF170
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

We analyzed the patterns of transmission in the 2022 clade IIb mpox epidemic as it unfolded in the European population of men who have sex with men (MSM). We developed an agent-based model that simulates sexual pair formation, incorporating both brief and longer-term sexual relationships. The model implements survey data on the sexual behavior of MSM and accounts for the highly heterogeneous nature of the sexual contact network within this community. When simulating the mpox epidemic, the model reproduces the reported numbers of sexual partners of mpox-infected individuals. We find that infection-derived immunity had little impact on ending the European outbreak. Instead, we suggest that the marked decrease in serial interval observed across the epidemic reflects a substantial increase in self-isolating behavior among infected persons and that this is sufficient to explain the early control of the epidemic. Our work highlights the critical interplay between relationship dynamics and adaptive behaviors in shaping mpox epidemic patterns and achieving control in 2022. Despite continued propagation of clade IIb mpox, the European MSM population remains protected by immunity, primarily vaccine-induced.

Indexed as

EpidemicsHomosexuality, MaleMpox, MonkeypoxSexual BehaviorEuropeHumansMaleSexual Partnersagent-based modelconcurrencyepidemicsmpoxsexually transmitted infections

Identifiers

PMID40928872
PMCPMC12452831

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.