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Congo is currently dealing with its largest monkeypox (mpox) outbreak to date, and scientists have discovered a new strain of the disease in a mining town that seems to spread more easily among people. Since the beginning of the year, there have been over 4,500 suspected cases and nearly 300 deaths, approximately three times the rates compared to last year, prompting the country’s government to declare a national health emergency.
Researchers studying the disease in Kamituga, eastern Congo, have found recent genetic mutations in the monkeypox virus due to its continuous transmission among humans in an area with limited contact with wild animals, typically considered the natural carriers of the disease. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have also issued an alert about new cases in Chicago.
“We’re in a new phase of mpox,” says Dr. Placide Mbala-Kingebeni, lead researcher of the study. The new form of the disease he’s found presents different symptoms, with most patients experiencing milder lesions primarily on the genitals, making the disease harder to diagnose. He notes this strain also seems to have a lower death rate.
In a recent report, the World Health Organization (WHO) commented on the possibility of needing a new testing method to detect the new mutation. The risk of silent transmission is high, considering less than half of the individuals in Congo with the symptoms are being tested.
According to Dr. Mbala-Kingebeni, sexual transmission is the most prevalent source of infection, with about one-third of the cases being found in sex workers. This comes after the discovery of sexual transmission being a significant factor in spreading the disease in 2022, leading to its global declaration as an emergency.
Dr. Mbala-Kingebeni and his team identified a new variant of the more severe strain of monkeypox that is potentially responsible for over 240 cases and at least three deaths in Kamituga and is causing concern among global infectious diseases experts.
Unfortunately, Congo has received limited assistance in terms of vaccines and treatments that have previously contained monkeypox outbreaks in the West. The Congolese Minister of Health has approved the use of vaccines in high-risk areas, and Congo’s Monkeypox Response Committee has been having conversations with potential donor countries, including Japan, for assistance in purchasing vaccines.
Once there is an ample supply, vaccination will be part of the disease response,” said Cris Kacita Osako, coordinator of Congo’s Monkeypox Response Committee.
Meanwhile, WHO’s emergencies chief, Dr. Michael Ryan, has emphasised that despite the ongoing monkeypox spread in Africa and elsewhere, there hasn’t been any monetary investment from donors.
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