Estimation of monkeypox spread in a non-endemic country considering contact tracing and self-reporting: a stochastic modeling study

In May 2022, monkeypox started to spread in nonendemic countries. To investigate contact tracing and self‐reporting of the primary case in the local community, a stochastic model is developed. An algorithm based on Gillespie's stochastic chemical kinetics is used to quantify the number of infections, contacts, and duration from the arrival of the primary case to the detection of the index case (or until there are no more local infections). Different scenarios were set considering the delay in contact tracing and behavior of infectors. We found that the self‐reporting behavior of a primary case is the most significant factor affecting outbreak size and duration. Scenarios with a self‐reporting primary case have an 86% reduction in infections (average: 5–7, in a population of 10 000) and contacts (average: 27–72) compared with scenarios with a non‐self‐reporting primary case (average number of infections and contacts: 27–72 and 197–537, respectively). Doubling the number of close contacts per day is less impactful compared with the self‐reporting behavior of the primary case as it could only increase the number of infections by 45%. Our study emphasizes the importance of the prompt detection of the primary case.