Development of monoclonal antibody-based antigens detection assays for orthopoxvirus and monkeypox virus

We read with great interest the paper by Yutong Sui et al., which developed a CRISPR-Cas12a-based detection assay for monkeypox virus (MPXV).1 Nucleic acid detection and antigen detection are two important methods for the diagnosis of the infection of the viruses, the two methods complement each other. The CRISPR-based assay developed by Sui et al. provides a visual and fast alternative for the diagnosis of the monkeypox virus, this assay usually requires a nucleic acid enrichment process, and in this study, samples from authentic MPXV were not used for testing.