Credit: Unsplash
Do You Need to Start Worrying?
A concerning new mpox outbreak is raising alarms among health experts, who warn that the latest strain of the virus could be more fast-spreading and deadly compared to the initial outbreak in early 2022. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a global public health emergency last week following its spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to neighboring countries.
This new outbreak has reached countries outside of the traditional mpox endemic areas, including Sweden, Pakistan, and Thailand, although the specific strain identified in some of these nations remains unclear.
Mpox, a viral infection spread through close contact, typically causes flu-like symptoms and lesions filled with pus. While the disease is usually mild, it has the potential to be fatal. The WHO’s Director for Europe, Dr. Hans Kluge, emphasized that the outbreak, though serious, is not comparable to the COVID-19 pandemic and can be controlled through international collaboration.
However, the emergence of a new subvariant, Clade 1b, has introduced additional uncertainties and challenges for containment. “Clade 1b has recently emerged and there are many unknowns that need to be addressed,” stated Professor Trudie Lang, Director of The Global Health Network at the University of Oxford. “There is emerging evidence of differences in transmission and symptoms, such as increased person-to-person spread and transmission from mothers to their babies during pregnancy.”
The current outbreak, identified as Clade 1, appears to spread more easily and has a higher fatality rate compared to the 2022 Clade 2 strain. Clade 1b, the newly identified subvariant, has been noted for its prevalence among young people and its spread through sexual networks, according to Jonas Albarnaz, a research fellow at The Pirbright Institute specializing in poxviruses. “More data is needed to understand its transmission dynamics and to inform control strategies,” Albarnaz added.
The outbreak poses a heightened risk in countries with higher rates of HIV and weaker healthcare systems, where mpox is known to be more severe in immunocompromised individuals. This adds urgency to the global response as efforts are intensified to curb the spread and manage the impact of the disease.
