Press
A new strain of monkeypox is spreading in Africa. It is transmitted more easily from person to person and could therefore become a global threat.
Kinshasa – New variants of known viruses are constantly being discovered. For each one, the level of danger it poses must be determined. In the case of the new form of the monkeypox virus – now renamed Mpox virus – the risk appears to be very high. It spreads faster among people than the form of the virus that was responsible for the monkeypox outbreak in the USA, and is also more deadly.
New variant of monkeypox virus is spreading rapidly – and could become a problem worldwide
The new variant of the Mpox virus, Clade Ib, is currently spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has already reached the border with Rwanda. The rapid spread is due, among other things, to the fact that this virus can be transmitted even without intimate contact between people outside of a household.
In contrast, the Clade IIb variant is mainly transmitted through sexual contact, especially between two men. In addition, Clade Ib has a higher mortality rate. While 99.9 percent of those infected with Clade IIb survive, in some Clade Ib outbreaks up to ten percent of those infected die, according to the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
If the outbreak in the US had involved clade Ib viruses, in the worst case scenario 3,200 of the 32,000 infected people would have died. However, since it was IIb, the number of deaths was significantly lower, with only 58 people dying.
Expert warns of new monkeypox virus: “Undoubtedly the most dangerous”
The fact that the new variant is spreading in a “worrying manner” is worrying scientists, according to a report by Business Insider It is “undoubtedly the most dangerous of all known Mpox strains,” the news portal quoted John Claude Udahemuka, a lecturer at the University of Rwanda, as saying.
Since the new virus is spread through skin contact with infected people, among other things, there is a possibility that it could spread quickly worldwide, including through air travel. An Mpox infection manifests itself through certain symptoms:
- Fever
- Headache
- Muscle and back pain
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Skin rash in the form of spots or pustules that crust over time and fall off
Source: infektionsschutz.de
“Any person who has symptoms that could be Mpox should therefore avoid close physical contact and seek immediate medical attention,” recommends the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). There is also a vaccination against monkeypox that is recommended for some people. (sp)
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