Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42251067›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Rapid development and field evaluation of a portable CRISPR-based assay for Mpox during the 2025 Sierra Leone outbreak.

Nisha Gopal, Tsion Abay, Carolyn Payne, Michael Gomez, Maariam Manjia Rogers, Ibrahim Umaru Fofanah, Tiangay P M S Kallon, Mohamed S Kamara, Ho-Jun Suk, John Demby Sandi and 9 more

Abstract readEvaluation Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

Nisha GopalBroad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. ngopal@broadinstitute.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1980-2292
Tsion AbayBroad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Carolyn PayneBroad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-6307-5886
Michael GomezBroad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Maariam Manjia RogersKenema Government Hospital, Ministry of Health, Kenema, Sierra Leone.
Ibrahim Umaru FofanahKenema Government Hospital, Ministry of Health, Kenema, Sierra Leone.
Tiangay P M S KallonKenema Government Hospital, Ministry of Health, Kenema, Sierra Leone.
Mohamed S KamaraKenema Government Hospital, Ministry of Health, Kenema, Sierra Leone.
Ho-Jun SukDxLab Inc., Somerville, Massachusetts, USA.
John Demby SandiKenema Government Hospital, Ministry of Health, Kenema, Sierra Leone.
Taylor Brock-FisherBroad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-5388-9315
Elyse StachlerBroad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Lao-Tzu Allan-BlitzBroad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
David J RoachBroad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Marietou F PayeBroad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Colby WilkasonBroad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Donald S GrantKenema Government Hospital, Ministry of Health, Kenema, Sierra Leone.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4329-0795
Al OzonoffBroad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4233-5899
Pardis C SabetiBroad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. pardis@broadinstitute.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9843-1890

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The large 2025 Mpox clade IIb outbreak in Sierra Leone underscores the urgent need for portable, low-cost diagnostics in decentralized settings. While CRISPR-based assays offer high sensitivity and flexibility, their deployment during active outbreaks remains limited. Here we show the rapid development and field evaluation of Mpox SHINE, a CRISPR-Cas13 assay that integrates lyophilized reagents, ambient-temperature lysis, and automated fluorescence detection on the portable DxHub device. The assay achieves analytical sensitivity down to 10 copies/µL. Clinical validation in Sierra Leone, using 56 clinical specimens, confirms complete concordance with qPCR, demonstrating 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity. Crucially, Mpox SHINE also detects the virus directly from unextracted lesion swabs while maintaining 100% sensitivity and specificity. The mean time-to-result is fast, averaging 11.4 minutes for extracted samples and 27.9 minutes for unextracted samples. These findings demonstrate that CRISPR-based diagnostics translate quickly from genomic sequence to clinically validated, deployable tools within a single outbreak window.

Indexed as

CRISPR-Cas SystemsDisease OutbreaksMpox, MonkeypoxHumansRapid Diagnostic TestsSensitivity and SpecificitySierra Leone

Identifiers

PMID42251067
PMCPMC13396451

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.