A NEW strain of mpox described as "the most dangerous yet" is spreading rapidly, experts warn. Countries in central Africa are most at risk, but the virus now also poses a threat to other parts of the world, including Europe , they said. "There is a critical need to address the recent surge in mpox cases," Rosamund Lewis, the World Health Organization 's (WHO) technical lead for mpox, said.
Mpox is a viral infection that causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. Most cases are mild but it can be deadly, killing about one in 10 of those infected. Initially, it spread through sexual contact , but experts say the mutant variant, clade 1lb, is increasingly being passed on through everyday touch.
"It is undoubtedly the most dangerous strain of mpox yet," Professor Trudie Lang, the director of Global Health Network at Oxford University, said. It is said to be behaving "extremely differently" to clades 1 and 2, the latter of which spread internationally to 110 countries, including the UK, in 2022, mostly among gay and bisexual men. This prompted the WHO to declare a public health emergency.
Although that has ended, experts say the disease remains a threat. Around 8,600 mpox cases and 410 deaths have been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone so far this year, Cris Kacita, the doctor in charge of operations in the country's mpox control programme, told Reuters last week. In South Africa , three people have died, with at least 16 laboratory-confirmed cases, the.
