Colored transmission electron micrograph of mpox virus particles (red) inside an infected cell (blue), cultured in the laboratory.
Bsip | Universal Images Collection | Getty Images
The escalating outbreak of MBOX is raising concerns among some health experts, who warn that the latest strain of the virus could be faster-spreading and more deadly than a previous outbreak in 2022.
The World Health Organization last week declared MBOX a global public health emergency after the disease spread from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to neighboring countries.
Since the new outbreak, cases have been identified in countries where dengue is not considered endemic, such as Sweden, Pakistan and Thailand — although it is unclear which strain has been identified in some of these countries.
Chickenpox is a viral infection that spreads through close contact and causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled sores. Although the disease is usually mild, it can be fatal.
The World Health Organization's director for Europe, Dr. Hans Kluge, said on Tuesday that the outbreak was “not the new Covid” and could be stopped through international cooperation.
But health experts have warned of “many unknowns” surrounding the latest outbreak – particularly the new strain – that could make it more difficult to contain.
“Cluster 1b has emerged recently and there are many unknowns that need to be addressed,” said Trudie Lang, professor of global health research and director of the Global Health Network at the University of Oxford.
“There is emerging evidence of differences in transmission and symptoms, such as more common transmission from person to person and from mothers to their babies during pregnancy,” she said.
There are two main types of mpox, known as clusters, with the most recent outbreak being identified as cluster 1. Compared to the 2022 strain, cluster 2, the current strain, appears to spread more easily and has a higher fatality rate.
A newly identified strain of the virus, type 1b, has been found to be particularly prevalent among young people and appears to be spreading through sexual networks, said Jonas Albarnaz, a researcher specialising in pox viruses at the Pirbright Institute.
However, he noted that more data is needed to understand its transmission dynamics and “to provide control strategies.”
Countries most at risk
Strain 1 is already known to cause more severe illness in young children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems. This has accelerated the spread of the disease in countries where certain health conditions are more prevalent and where health care systems are weak.
“Because MBOX is more severe in immunocompromised individuals, it is also of concern that the current outbreak is occurring in an area where HIV prevalence is relatively high but access to antiretroviral drugs is poor,” said Brian Ferguson, associate professor of immunology at the University of Cambridge.
Ongoing conflicts in parts of Africa – such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where large numbers of displaced people have moved into refugee camps – have also worsened sanitation conditions and accelerated the spread of disease.
So far this year, more than 15,000 cases and at least 537 deaths have been reported from the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to the World Health Organization, with more cases reported elsewhere.
Ferguson said more cases were likely to be identified in the coming days and weeks given the lack of controls to prevent the disease from spreading from one country to another. He also said lessons had not been learned from the previous outbreak, which was declared a public health emergency in July 2022 before being removed in May 2023.
“The lack of activity in the intervening period led to what could now become a new global outbreak. Greater efforts should have been made to produce and distribute vaccines to affected areas, but this did not happen,” he added.
Vaccines for Youth
This comes after the company on Friday submitted data to the European Union's medicines regulator to expand the use of the mpox vaccine to adolescents.
The company's CEO Paul Chaplin told CNBC at the time that getting approval for children ages 12 to 17 would be critical in addressing the outbreak of the latest strain of the virus.
“More than 70% of cases in Africa are currently in people under the age of 18, so it will be crucial that our vaccine is used in this younger age group,” he added.
