Mpox outbreak

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More on that by CBC:

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/health/w ... r-AA1oNMeX

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What to Know About the New Mpox Strain and Global Health Emergency
by Ivana Saric
August 15, 2024

Introduction:

(Axios) The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global health emergency as a deadly new strain of mpox is spreading through parts of Africa.

The big picture: This is the second time in just over two years that the WHO has declared mpox — previously known as monkeypox — to be a global emergency.

Flashback: The WHO issued its first declaration over mpox in July 2022, after the disease had spread to over 70 countries.

• Between 2022 and 2023, the outbreak caused more than 99,000 cases and more than 200 deaths, per estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• It revoked the emergency status in May 2023, following a steep decline in cases as awareness of the disease increased and vaccines became more readily available.

Read more here: https://www.axios.com/2024/08/15/mpox- ... reatment

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First case of more dangerous mpox found outside Africa

15 August 2024, 16:54 BST



Sweden's public health agency has recorded what it says is the first case of a more dangerous variant of mpox outside the African continent.

The person became infected during a stay in an area of Africa where there is currently a major outbreak of mpox Clade 1, the agency said.

The news comes just hours after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the outbreak of mpox in parts of Africa was now a public health emergency of international concern.

At least 450 people died during an initial outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the disease has since spread to areas of Central and East Africa.

According to Olivia Wigzell, the acting head of the Swedish public health agency, the infected person had sought care in the Stockholm area and the fact that they were receiving treatment in Sweden did not mean there was a risk to the broader population.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gqr5lrpwxo

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What is Mpox? A Microbiologist Explains What’s Known About this Smallpox Cousin
by Rodney E. Rohde
August 15, 2024

Introduction:

(The Conversation) On Aug. 14, 2024, the World Health Organization declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern. There have been over 15,600 cases and over 530 deaths reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring countries in Africa. The disease had previously caused a global outbreak from 2022 to 2023.

Mpox – previously called monkeypox – isn’t a new disease. The first confirmed human case was in 1970, when the virus was isolated from a child suspected of having smallpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Though usually mild, mpox can still potentially cause severe illness. Health officials are concerned that more cases will arise with increased travel.

I’m a researcher who has worked in public health and medical laboratories for over three decades, especially in the realm of diseases with animal origins. What exactly is happening in the current outbreak, and what does history tell us about mpox?

A cousin of smallpox

Mpox is caused by the monkeypox virus, which belongs to a subset of the Poxviridae family of viruses called Orthopoxvirus. This subset includes the smallpox, vaccinia and cowpox viruses. While an animal reservoir for monkeypox virus is unknown, African rodents are suspected to play a part in transmission. The monkeypox virus has only been isolated twice from an animal in nature. Diagnostic testing for mpox is currently only available at Laboratory Response Network labs in the U.S. and globally.

The name “monkeypox” comes from the first documented cases of the illness in animals in 1958, when two outbreaks occurred in monkeys kept for research. However, the virus did not jump from monkeys to humans, nor are monkeys major carriers of the disease.

Read more here: https://theconversation.com/what-is-mp ... in-236857

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Mpox: EU must prepare for more cases, health agency warns

54 minutes ago

The European Union's health agency urged the bloc's member states to prepare for more cases of the deadly mpox infection on Friday, a day after the first case outside of Africa was reported in Sweden.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said the level of risk remained "low" but that it "recommends that public health authorities in the EU/EEA maintain high levels of preparedness planning and awareness-raising activities to enable rapid detection and response."

The ECDC raised its risk assessment for the mpox clade I strain to moderate on Friday.

The Stockholm-based agency said it was "highly likely" more cases would appear in Europe.

"Due to the close links between Europe and Africa, we must be prepared for more imported clade I cases," ECDC director Pamela Rendi-Wagner said in a statement.

https://www.dw.com/en/mpox-eu-must-prep ... a-69963234

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Deadlier mpox variant 'very likely' to be already in the UK, says expert

Saturday 17 August 2024 12:09, UK

A new deadlier variant of mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is "very likely" to already be in the UK, an infectious diseases expert has told Sky News.

The clade 1b strain has been confirmed in Sweden and Pakistan after first being detected in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and is believed to be the most dangerous so far.

The World Health Organization declared it a global health emergency this week due to it spreading to 13 African countries - where more than 15,600 cases and 537 deaths have been reported.

Professor Paul Hunter said it was "very likely" someone in the UK already has the new variant of the viral disease.

However, he said it probably wouldn't be confirmed for a few weeks until people with symptoms visit a doctor and their samples are tested.

https://news.sky.com/story/deadlier-mpo ... t-13198245

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Global Health Advocates Call for Massive Mpox Vaccination Effort
by Julia Conley
August 16, 2024

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) The international medical charity Doctors Without Borders on Friday appealed to wealthy countries that have stockpiles of mpox vaccines to immediately donate doses to several countries in Africa that have been affected by recent outbreaks, as global officials warned the spread of the disease is now a public health emergency of international concern.

The group, also known by its French name, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), expressed support for the World Health Organization's (WHO) call for donor countries to help fund a coordinated response to the outbreak, including surveillance, building laboratory capacity, increasing community engagement, and guaranteeing access to treatments, vaccines, and testing.

The current outbreak has been reported mainly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the number of mpox cases this year has surpassed 15,600. More than 530 people have died of the disease this year.

Mpox has been reported in DRC for more than a decade, but with far fewer annual case numbers. More than 100 cases have also been confirmed in the past month in four neighboring countries which have not reported cases of the disease before: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda.

Dr. Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, estimated this week that at least 10 million doses of mpox vaccines will be needed to respond to the growing outbreak.

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/mpox-outbreak

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Mpox: Chris Whitty and ministers discuss UK mpox preparedness after global emergency declared

Monday 19 August 2024 16:56, UK

Ministers have met to discuss the UK's preparedness to respond to mpox - after the declaration of a global health emergency.

There have been more than 17,000 mpox cases and 571 deaths in Africa this year following the emergence of a new clade 1b variant, first spotted in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It has been detected in neighbouring African countries, and as far afield as Sweden and Pakistan - but no cases have yet been found in the UK.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced last Wednesday that an outbreak of the strain was now a "public health emergency of international concern".

Pat McFadden, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, met with ministers from the Department for Health, Foreign Office and the UK's chief medical officer Mr Whitty on Monday.

https://news.sky.com/story/mpox-chris-w ... s-13199763

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Thailand says mpox case recorded in traveller from Africa

https://www.reuters.com/business/health ... 024-08-21/

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https://www.lemonde.fr/en/health/articl ... 31_14.html