A new strain of the mpox virus spreading quickly along the eastern border of Democratic Republic of Congo is “incredibly worrying”, say health officials monitoring its spread.
The virus, which can cause lesions across the whole body, is making some people very ill and can be deadly.
The current outbreak has been driven by sexual transmission but there is evidence this strain can also be passed on through close skin-to-skin contact.
Global health experts say the new variant risks cross-border and international spread of the virus, with one calling it the “most dangerous strain yet”.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A new strain of the mpox virus spreading quickly along the eastern border of Democratic Republic of Congo is “incredibly worrying”, say health officials monitoring its spread.The virus, which can cause lesions across the whole body, is making some people very ill and can be deadly.The current outbreak has been driven by sexual transmission but there is evidence this strain can also be passed on through close skin-to-skin contact.Global health experts say the new variant risks cross-border and international spread of the virus, with one calling it the “most dangerous strain yet”.A worldwide epidemic of mpox in 2022 was brought under control by vaccinating vulnerable groups.But there is poor access to vaccines and treatments in DR Congo and local health officials are warning the virus could reach other countries.
A person with lesions can go through borders because there are no controls," said Leandre Murhula Masirika, at the health department in South Kivu province - one of the worst affected areas in DR Congo.
Cases of mpox, formerly called monkeypox, have been on the rise in the African country for decades.Official figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) show there have been nearly 8,000 cases this year in DR Congo, including 384 deaths - almost half of these among children under 15.An outbreak in South Kivu province, near the border with Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda, is causing particular concern.Lab testing of virus samples from the area recently found the new mpox strain, which contains mutations that appear to help it circulate among humans.
In the mining town of Kamituga, where the strain is thought to have originated among sex workers in September 2023, cases are rising.
Scientists briefing journalists about the current outbreak said they feared the new vstrain was being spread more easily, causing more serious disease and more deaths in children and adults.There is also concern over the risk of asymptomatic spread between people who do not have symptoms and are unaware they have the virus.The current case figures are “the tip of the iceberg”, said Prof Trudie Lang, professor of global health research at the University of Oxford.
John Claude Udahemuka, a lecturer at the University of Rwanda who is monitoring the eastern DR Congo outbreak, said the first person with the new strain was likely to have been a man who had sex with a woman in Kamituga and then with other women in several different locations.The disease first appeared in the rainy season when the roads were bad and there was limited movement of people.
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