Amid Congo ’s deadliest mpox outbreak, a new worry: virus has become sexually transmissible

Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was experiencing its largest, most deadly outbreak of mpox ever, with more than 12,000 suspected cases so far this year and nearly 600 deaths, far surpassing those from the global outbreak of the same viral disease over the past 2 years. The WHO report and a study out today also explore a worrisome possibility: that the strain of virus in the DRC, far deadlier than the one that drove the global outbreak, is in some cases spreading between sexual partners. Originally known as monkeypox, the disease is caused by a virus (MPXV) that long has sporadically infected people in rural areas of the DRC, mostly though contact with infected squirrels and other rodents. Researchers have documented occasional spread among household contacts, but the MPXV strain in the DRC, designated clade I, has never been linked to sexual transmission, a major mode of transmission for the clade IIb strain in the global outbreak. Researchers are now rushing to analyze the latest DRC cases to see whether the local virus has changed genetically, and some scientists suggest the country should consider at least targeted use of the mpox vaccines that are now widely available in wealthy countries outside of Africa. It’s “shocking” that vaccination is not yet accessible in DRC,” says Yale University epidemiologist Gregg Gonsalves. “As a question of equity, it’s hard to stomach.” Gonsa...
Source: Science of Aging Knowledge Environment - Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research