2 months ago
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FOR A FAST RESOLUTION. FIVE ON YOUR HEALTH TONIGHT, THERE’S A NEW ALERT ABOUT THE THE RISE OF MPOX, WHICH WE USED TO CALL MONKEYPOX. AND IT’S RAISING GLOBAL CONCERNS. SO HERE TO MAKE SENSE OF THE NEW WARNING, DOCTOR SHIRA DORON CHIEF INFECTION CONTROL OFFICER AT TUFTS MEDICINE. DOCTOR, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. ALWAYS A PLEASURE. YOU KNOW, THE W.H.O. DECLARED A NEW OUTBREAK IN AFRICA AS AN EMERGENCY OF INTERNATIONAL CONCERN. SO WHAT ARE EXPERTS WORRIED ABOUT HERE? WELL, THE REASON FOR THE DECLARATION IS THAT THE OUTBREAK, WHICH HAS BEEN GOING ON IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO FOR DECADES, HAS REACHED RECORD NUMBERS THERE. AND HAS BEGUN TO SPREAD TO NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES IN AFRICA. AND LIKE THE 2022 GLOBAL OUTBREAK, NOW APPEARS TO BE SPREADING IN SEXUAL NETWORKS. SO DECLARING IT A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY FREES UP RESOURCES FOR A COORDINATED INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE. SO, DOCTOR JEROME, THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN TWO YEARS THAT THE W.H.O. HAS DECLARED A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY OVER MPOX. WHAT MAKES THIS ONE DIFFERENT? WELL, THIS IS A DIFFERENT CLADE OR STRAIN OF MPOX THAN THE ONE THAT CAUSED THE GLOBAL OUTBREAK IN 2022. THAT WE SAW CASES OF HERE IN THE US. THAT ONE WAS CLADE TWO, WHEREAS THIS ONE IS CLADE ONE, CLADE ONE TENDS TO BE MORE LIKELY TO CAUSE FATAL DISEASE THAN CLADE TWO. OKAY, SO WHO’S MOST AT RISK? HOW CONCERNED SHOULD WE BE ABOUT THE DISEASE MAKING OUR WAY TO OUR AREA? RIGHT NOW WE DON’T HAVE ANY CLADE 1 OR 2 CIRCULATING IN MASSACHUSETTS. CLADE ONE HAS ONLY BEEN SEEN IN A FEW COUNTRIES OUTSIDE OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO. ONLY ONE COUNTRY OUTSIDE OF AFRICA, SWEDEN. AND THAT WAS A PERSON WHO HAD TRAVELED TO AN AFFECTED AREA. IT MAY NOT CAUSE ANY PROBLEMS HERE AT ALL, BUT IF IT DOES, IT’S LIKELY THAT IT WOULD BE SPREAD BY VERY CLOSE PERSON TO PERSON CONTACT. SO RIGHT NOW, THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH IS STILL RECOMMENDING THAT CERTAIN PEOPLE RECEIVE THE MPOX VACCINE, MAINLY PEOPLE WITH SPECIFIC SEXUAL RISK FACTORS. SO IF YOU RECEIVE THAT FIRST SHOT IN 2022, BUT NOT THE SECOND, IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO GET THAT SECOND DOSE NOW. ALL RIGHT. DOCTOR JEROME, THANKS, AS ALWAYS, FOR JOINING U
United States’ first known case of more severe strain of mpox confirmed in California
The United States' first known case of a more severe strain of mpox was confirmed in California, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday. The risk of clade I mpox to the public remains low, the agency said.The person diagnosed with clade I mpox had recently traveled from Eastern Africa, where an mpox outbreak is ongoing. The person was treated at a local medical facility and released, the CDC said. The person has been isolating at home and their symptoms are improving. The state and CDC are working to identify and follow up with potential contacts.Clade II mpox has been circulating in the United States since a large outbreak in 2022 and 2023. A more recent outbreak in Africa is driven by clade I, which is known to cause more severe disease.The subtype that's responsible for most of the ongoing spread, clade Ib, is relatively new. Travel-related cases of mpox clade Ib have been reported in Germany, India, Kenya, Sweden, Thailand, Zimbabwe, and the United Kingdom. Some countries outside of Africa have also reported locally transmitted cases."The recent travel-associated clade I mpox cases outside of Africa have all been attributed to subclade Ib; there have been no deaths associated with these cases and available data for a subset has detailed relatively mild disease courses," the CDC said Saturday."Historically, clade I mpox has caused more severe illness and deaths than clade II mpox; however, recent data demonstrate that infections from clade I mpox in the current outbreak may not be as clinically severe as in previous outbreaks. While outbreaks of clade I mpox used to have death rates around 3%-11%, more recent outbreaks have had death rates as low as approximately 1% when patients received good medical oversight and supportive clinical care. Death rates are expected to be much lower in countries with stronger healthcare systems and treatment options, including the United States."The World Health Organization says the number of mpox cases in Africa has been rising, driven mostly by cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Uganda. On Nov. 22, the WHO is set to convene a meeting of its emergency committee on mpox to advise whether the current outbreak still constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral disease related to the now-eradicated smallpox virus. It can spread through close contact such as touching, kissing or sex, as well as through contaminated materials like sheets, clothing and needles, according to the WHO.Initial symptoms are typically flu-like — including fever, chills, exhaustion, headache and muscle weakness — often followed by a painful or itchy rash with raised lesions that scab over and resolve over a period of weeks.The CDC says people can protect themselves from mpox by avoiding contact with people with symptoms and contaminated materials such as clothing, bedding, sex toys and toothbrushes. People who are eligible are recommended to get two doses of mpox vaccine.
The United States' first known case of a more severe strain of mpox was confirmed in California, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday. The risk of clade I mpox to the public remains low, the agency said.
The person diagnosed with clade I mpox had recently traveled from Eastern Africa, where an mpox outbreak is ongoing. The person was treated at a local medical facility and released, the CDC said. The person has been isolating at home and their symptoms are improving. The state and CDC are working to identify and follow up with potential contacts.
Clade II mpox has been circulating in the United States since a large outbreak in 2022 and 2023. A more recent outbreak in Africa is driven by clade I, which is known to cause more severe disease.
The subtype that's responsible for most of the ongoing spread, clade Ib, is relatively new. Travel-related cases of mpox clade Ib have been reported in Germany, India, Kenya, Sweden, Thailand, Zimbabwe, and the United Kingdom. Some countries outside of Africa have also reported locally transmitted cases.
"The recent travel-associated clade I mpox cases outside of Africa have all been attributed to subclade Ib; there have been no deaths associated with these cases and available data for a subset has detailed relatively mild disease courses," the CDC said Saturday.
"Historically, clade I mpox has caused more severe illness and deaths than clade II mpox; however, recent data demonstrate that infections from clade I mpox in the current outbreak may not be as clinically severe as in previous outbreaks. While outbreaks of clade I mpox used to have death rates around 3%-11%, more recent outbreaks have had death rates as low as approximately 1% when patients received good medical oversight and supportive clinical care. Death rates are expected to be much lower in countries with stronger healthcare systems and treatment options, including the United States."
The World Health Organization says the number of mpox cases in Africa has been rising, driven mostly by cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Uganda. On Nov. 22, the WHO is set to convene a meeting of its emergency committee on mpox to advise whether the current outbreak still constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral disease related to the now-eradicated smallpox virus. It can spread through close contact such as touching, kissing or sex, as well as through contaminated materials like sheets, clothing and needles, according to the WHO.
Initial symptoms are typically flu-like — including fever, chills, exhaustion, headache and muscle weakness — often followed by a painful or itchy rash with raised lesions that scab over and resolve over a period of weeks.
The CDC says people can protect themselves from mpox by avoiding contact with people with symptoms and contaminated materials such as clothing, bedding, sex toys and toothbrushes. People who are eligible are recommended to get two doses of mpox vaccine.
English (US)