Mpox: America reports first case of new form of rare disease [View all]

Source: The Independent

Saturday 16 November 2024 18:41 GMT


US Health officials have confirmed the first case of a new form of mpox. The infected person had traveled to eastern Africa and was treated in Northern California upon return, according to the California Department of Public Health. Symptoms are improving and the risk to the public is low.

Mpox is a rare disease caused by infection with a virus that’s in the same family as the one that causes smallpox. It is endemic in parts of Africa, where people have been infected through bites from rodents or small animals.

Earlier this year, scientists reported the emergence of a new form of mpox in Africa that was spread through close contact including through sex. It was first seen in eastern Congo. The new variant, known as Clade 1b, is mutating rapidly and proving difficult to control, scientists say. It appears to spread more easily, and was therefore declared as a global health emergency by the World Health Organization in Africa on August 15.

More than 3,100 confirmed cases have been reported just since late September, according to the World Health Organization. The vast majority of them have been in three African countries — Burundi, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/how-does-mpox-spread-america-b2648387.html