A New Form Of Mpox That May Spread More Easily Found In Congo’s Biggest Outbreak

KINSHASA, Congo – Congo is battling to contain its largest mpox outbreak, and scientists believe a new strain of the disease discovered in a mining town could spread more easily among people.

Congo has reported over 4,500 probable mpox cases and over 300 deaths since January, substantially double from the same period last year, according to the World Health Organization. Congo recently declared the outbreak a national health emergency.

An analysis of patients hospitalized between October and January in Kamituga, eastern Congo, suggests that recent mpox genetic mutations are the result of the disease’s continued transmission in humans; this is occurring in a town where people have little contact with the wild animals thought to naturally carry the disease.

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A New Form Of Mpox That May Spread More Easily Found In Congo’s Biggest Outbreak

“We’re in a new phase of mpox,” said Dr. Placide Mbala-Kingebeni, the study’s principal researcher, who added that it would soon be submitted to a journal for publication. Mbala-Kingebeni is the head of a lab at Congo’s National Institute of Biomedical Research that researches disease genetics.

Mbala-Kingebeni stated that the majority of patients’ lesions are milder and located in the genitals, making the disease more difficult to identify. In earlier African outbreaks, lesions were usually found on the chest, hands, and feet. He also noted that the new type seemed to have a decreased fatality rate.

In a report on the worldwide mpox situation published this week, WHO stated that the new strain of the disease may necessitate a new testing technique to detect mutations.

With specialists pointing out that fewer than half of Congo’s mpox patients are tested, Mbala-Kingebeni stated: “The risk is that unless patients themselves come forward, we will have a silent transmission of the disease and nobody will know.”

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A New Form Of Mpox That May Spread More Easily Found In Congo’s Biggest Outbreak

According to Mbala-Kingebeni, the majority of people become infected through intercourse, with sex workers accounting for almost one-third of all mpox cases. It wasn’t until the 2022 worldwide mpox emergency that scientists discovered the disease was transmitted through sex, with the majority of cases affecting gay or bisexual men. WHO confirmed the first sexual transmission of mpox in Congo in November.

Mpox is classified into two types, or clades, related to smallpox and found in central and western Africa. Clade 1 is more severe, killing up to 10% of those afflicted. Clade 2 sparked the 2022 outbreak, and more than 99% of those afflicted survived.

Mbala-Kingebeni and colleagues stated they discovered a novel type of clade 1 that could be responsible for over 240 cases and at least three deaths in Kamituga, a location with a large transitory population going throughout Africa and beyond.

Dr. Boghuma Titanji, an infectious diseases expert at Emory University who was not involved in the study, expressed alarm about the new mutations.

“This suggests the virus is adapting to spread efficiently in humans and could cause some pretty consequential outbreaks,” she went on to say.

Vaccines and treatments were used to control mpox epidemics in the West, but few were accessible in Congo. Congo’s minister of health has authorized the deployment of vaccines in high-risk provinces, according to Cris Kacita Osako, coordinator of Congo’s Monkeypox Response Committee. He added officials are in talks with donor countries such as Japan to help pay for the doses.

“Once a sufficient quantity of vaccines is available … vaccination will be implemented as part of the response,” Kacita Osako, the minister of health, stated.

Dr. Dimie Ogoina, an mpox expert at Niger Delta University, believes the new findings are a frightening reminder of a previous — but distinct — outbreak.

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A New Form Of Mpox That May Spread More Easily Found In Congo’s Biggest Outbreak

“The notable spread among sex workers is reminiscent of the early stages of HIV,” he said, adding that biases about treating sexually transmitted infections and persons with mpox’s unwillingness to speak up were concerning.

Dr. Michael Ryan, WHO’s emergency chief, stated last week that, despite the continuous spread of mpox in Africa and elsewhere, “there has not been a single donor dollar invested.”

SOURCE – (AP)