Deadlier strain of mpox spreads to more countries, raising officials' alarm

Cases of a deadlier strain of mpox have been confirmed in four countries in Africa, raising alarm among health officials around the world. Levels of mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo have reached more than 14,000 reported cases and 511 deaths, and it has spread to four neighboring countries that had not previously reported cases. WHO officials plan to convene an emergency committee soon to determine whether the outbreak is a public health emergency of international concern. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health advisory addressing the risk of additional spread. Mpox is a viral disease that can spread easily between people and from infected animals. It can spread through close contact and contaminated materials. Symptoms include a fever, a painful rash, headache, muscle and back pain, low energy, and enlarged lymph nodes. The disease had largely been found in Central and West Africa but also began spreading in Europe and North America in 2022. Mpox is characterized by two genetic clades, I and II. Clade Ib, which has been circulating in the DRC for years, causes more severe disease and is responsible for the current outbreak there. Clade II was responsible for the global outbreak that began in 2022. Since January 2023, the DRC has reported the largest number of suspected clade I mpox cases on record: more than 22,000, with over 1,200 deaths. The risk of further spread in the region is moderate for the general population and high in the DRC. No cases of clade I mpox have been reported outside central and eastern Africa, and the CDC classifies the risk that it will be brought into the US as very low. The WHO has begun the Emergency Use Listing process for both approved mpox vaccines, aiming to expedite access for lower-income countries that have not granted their own approval. The CDC advises anyone who has traveled to the DRC or its neighboring countries in the past 21 days and who has developed an unexplained rash to seek medical care immediately and avoid contact with others. WHO has developed a regional response plan requiring $15 million and has released $1 million from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies to support the response. The organization has also called for international support and cooperation to quell the outbreak.