Deadly overseas mpox outbreak poses ‘global threat,’ CDC warns. Here’s what you need to know.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning Americans about a more deadly form of mpox that is spreading rapidly through the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), saying it “poses a global threat.” Monkeypox cases in the United States have declined since their peak in August 2022, but health officials are urging caution. So far, no cases of this deadlier strain have been detected in the United States, but the CDC is stepping up surveillance for mpox and advising people at high risk of infection to get vaccinated and take precautions .

Here’s what experts want you to know about the mpox resurgence.

What is mpox?

Mpox is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. It usually causes a rash and flu-like symptoms, including body aches, fever, chills, headache, and fatigue, although it can be fatal, especially for people with weakened immune systems. is weakened.

In the spring of 2022, mpox began to spread in the United States, primarily among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men. The virus is transmitted through “prolonged intimate contact with a person with active lesions,” which are red, sometimes painful sores that constitute a mpox rash, explains Dr. Boghuma Titanji, professor of infectious diseases at the faculty. in Medicine from Emory University. Yahoo Life. “When you talk about close intimate contact, that includes sexual relations, because when people have sex, they are close to each other,” but mpox is not a sexually transmitted infection and can spread without contact sexual, she said.

What’s happening now?

The more deadly of the two forms of the mpox virus – known as clade I – has driven the number of cases in the DRC to a record high. Nearly 20,000 suspected cases of mpox were diagnosed there between January 1, 2023 and April 14, 2024, according to a recent CDC report. Nearly 1,000 people died from the infection, more than two-thirds of them children.

Clade I has a significantly higher mortality rate than clade II, which hit the United States in 2022, killing up to 10% of people who contract it, compared to 3.6% or less of people infected with it. mildest form of mpox (although Titanji notes, this may be partly due to the fact that there is less access to treatment in the parts of Africa hardest hit by clade I).

For the moment, this deadliest group mainly affects central African countries, notably the DRC and Cameroon, explains Titanji. None of the 343 samples collected from people with mpox in the United States and tested by the CDC between December 1, 2023 and April 14, 2024 belonged to clade I.

But, in 2022, the less deadly form of mpox (clade II) has quickly moved from a regional to a global concern, with travel helping to spread the infection to 110 countries, including much of Europe and the United States, ultimately infecting more than 32,000 Americans. . The CDC is concerned that the international spread of clade I may occur again. And the most commonly used mpox tests in the United States do not distinguish between the two subtypes of the virus, making it difficult to know whether clade I has arrived, Dr. Amesh. Adalja, professor of infectious diseases at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told Yahoo Life.

How serious is the risk of mpox in the United States?

The CDC’s main goal, for now, is to monitor travelers from the DRC who may have mpox and raise awareness, particularly those at high risk of infection. “The United States has never gone down to zero cases” since the outbreak began two years ago, Titanji says. “We still have an average of 200 cases reported each month” and fewer than one in four at-risk people have received their full series of vaccinations against the virus, meaning most are still vulnerable to infection.

As the epidemic continues, men who have sex with men remain at greatest risk of infection. “We saw a disproportionate impact among interconnected social and sexual networks” during the 2022 wave, says Titanji. “It really was able to spread into a niche group.” » But she adds: “We (also) saw infections among all sexual types and preferences. It is an infectious disease; it can infect anyone if you are exposed to it. In the DRC, there has been considerable spread between heterosexual partners and among children who may live or play nearby, she explains.

How to reduce the risk of infection

In the United States, anyone eligible for mpox vaccination — including gay and bisexual men — who has not received both doses of the vaccine should do so, Titanji and Adalja advise. This is especially important for those living with HIV or other immunocompromising illnesses, because mpox is particularly dangerous for these people, CDC data suggests.

Summer, with its busy social activities and increased travel, also carries additional risks of mpox transmission, notes Titanji. Plus, “it’s Pride Month, so there are a lot of festivals that bring people together,” she says. “This creates opportunities for transmission and a resurgence of an epidemic.”

Titanji advises people to self-monitor for lesions and flu-like symptoms and consider getting tested for mpox before coming into close contact with others. She also recommends using condoms to reduce the risk of contact with sores. But, she adds, that doesn’t mean you have to put fun aside. Instead, “use the tools that we have in the public health space that allow people to be able to continue to enjoy the summer and have sex with their partners, but (do) a way that does not increase their risk of exposure to an infection like mpox,” explains Titanji.