The health authorities have declared a worldwide emergency due to the rapid transmission of Mpox, previously known as monkeypox. However, much is still unclear about this virus, with another form causing much worry.
Uncertainty Around Mpox
Some of the critical questions about pox are: Is it more transmissible? What’s the fatality rate? Could it turn into a pandemic? And for Dr Jake Dunning, an MPX scientist and doctor who has treated patients in the UK. He cautions against jumping to conclusions. He stresses that this situation should not be ‘assumed’ to be like the COVID-19 pandemic or similar to outbreaks of monkey-pox seen in 2022.
Different Variants, Multiple Outbreaks Mpox
The current pox situation is characterized by three separate outbreaks — each affecting different populations and behaving differently. These outbreaks are classified by their “clade”, which refers to a specific branch within the the family tree of viruses belonging to monkeypox species.
Clade 1a: This clade is responsible for most infections within the western and northern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The outbreak has been ongoing for over a decade now and is mainly transmitted through eating bushmeat that’s contaminated with the virus. It can also pass on from one person to another through close contact with an infected person; children suffer most from this type.
Clade 1b: This new variant is causing outbreaks in eastern DRC and neighbouring countries. Spread along trucking routes, sexual contact with exploited sex workers is the primary mode of transmission. Viruses can also spread from one infected individual to another child.
Clade 2: The strain behind the global outbreak of MPX in 2022 mainly affected gay men, bisexuals & other men having sex with men (MSM) – plus their close contacts, too. Still, there exist some cases where sexual transmission continues occurring without the involvement of MSM community groups.
New Clade 1b and Its Impact
For WHO, clade 1b is one of the main reasons they declared PHEIC. This strain has reached countries previously unaffected by monkeypox, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. It was first reported this year, but genetic analysis shows that its roots can be traced back to September 2023 in Kamituga (South Kivu Province), DRC.
Leandre Murhula Masirika, who works as a research coordinator within the health department. Says that due to the sex industry in the mining city of Kamituga. And the movement of people across borders, the virus is moving quickly through these areas. The primary mode of transmission for this virus is sexual contact, but it can also pass from parent to child or between children with links to miscarriages.
Different Features of Clade 1b
Clade 1b differs significantly from clade 1a. According to Prof Trudi Lang, who teaches at University College London (UCL). Rashes are more severe & prolonged during infection caused by clades 1b than those caused by clades 1a. Moreover, most cases are transmitted through sex, not bush meat. Such unique transmission patterns exhibited by this new variant underscore the changing nature of monkeypox. Therefore, continuous surveillance measures should be maintained while researching it, too. So that we can keep pace with such changes which may occur over time.
