PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE OF MALAWI

a) A person who is a contact of a probable or confirmed mpox
case in the 21 days before the onset of signs or symptoms,
and who presents with any of the following: acute onset of fever (>38.5°C), headache, myalgia (muscle pain/body
aches), back pain, profound weakness, or fatigue. OR A person presenting with an unexplained acute skin rash,
mucosal lesions or lymphadenopathy (swollen lymph nodes). The skin rash may include single or multiple lesions in the ano-genital region or elsewhere on the body. Mucosal lesions may include single or multiple oral, conjunctival, urethral, penile, vaginal, or anorectal lesions. Ano-rectal lesions can also manifest as ano-rectal inflammation (proctitis), pain and/or bleeding. AND For which the following common causes of acute rash or skin lesions do not fully explain the clinical picture: varicella zoster, herpes zoster, measles, herpes simplex, bacterial skin infections, isseminated gonococcus infection, primary or secondary syphilis, chancroid, lymphogranuloma venereum, granuloma inguinale, molluscum contagiosum, allergic
reaction (e.g., to plants); and any other locally relevant common causes of papular or vesicular rash. (N.B. It is not necessary to obtain negative laboratory results for listed common causes of rash illness in order to classify a case as suspected. Further, if suspicion of mpox or MPXV infection is high due to either history and/or clinical presentation or possible
exposure to a case, the identification of an alternate pathogen which causes rash illness should not preclude testing for MPXV, as co-infections have been identified.