A new lineage of the mpox virus linked to efficient human-to-human transmission has been identified in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) — and the researchers behind the finding are calling for swift action to 'avert another global mpox outbreak.
A new lineage of the mpox virus linked to efficient human-to-human transmission has been identified in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — and the researchers behind the finding are calling for swift action to 'avert another global mpox outbreak.'Mpox burst onto the global landscape in 2022, spreading to dozens of countries through sexual networks that largely impacted men who have sex with men.
The researchers say the ongoing situation in Kamituga echoes the 2017 to 2018 outbreak of clade IIb mpox in Nigeria, which is now widely considered a harbinger to the unprecedented global spread of the disease a few years later. Urgent measures are needed — including expanded surveillance, contact tracing and targeted vaccination efforts — to contain this "pandemic-potential" outbreak, the researchers wrote.The team's concern stems, in part, from Kamituga's demographics. The densely-populated region lacks healthcare infrastructure to handle a large-scale outbreak, and the researchers believe the reported cases are likely an underestimate.
Toronto-based infectious diseases specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch, who was not involved in the research, praised the team for showing a "subtle but real" genetic difference in the mpox virus samples from Kamituga.But he cautioned against over-interpreting the results, saying the findings don't prove this new lineage is even more transmissible than before or capable of evading existing treatments and vaccines.
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