The UK Health and Safety Executive has identified a new hybrid mpox strain in the UK in a person who had recently traveled to Asia.
Genome sequencing shows that the strain is “recombinant,” combining elements from clade Ib and clade IIb (both currently in circulation), indicating that virus evolution is ongoing. According to the report, authorities are still assessing its significance. BBC.
“Our genomic testing enabled us to detect this new mpox strain. It is normal for viruses to evolve and further analysis will help us better understand how mpox is changing,” said Dr Katie Sinka, UKHSA’s head of sexually transmitted diseases.
Mr Shinka added: “For many people, mpox infection is mild, but for some it can be serious. Getting vaccinated is a proven effective way to protect yourself from serious illness, so make sure you get your jab if you’re eligible.”
Mpox is spread by close physical contact, droplets, and touching contaminated clothing, bedding, or towels. Symptoms include fever, headache, back pain, muscle pain, and fatigue, along with lesions or skin rashes that last two to four weeks.
of CDC They point out that clade I mpox (the more lethal type with a mortality rate of 1.4% to 10%) occurs primarily in central and eastern Africa.
Clade I contains two subclades. Ia is primarily found in Central Africa and often affects children through contact with infected animals or people. Ib has been identified in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and is primarily spread through intimate sexual contact among adults.
Type Ib is currently occurring in several countries where it is not normally found, including the United States, where at least three cases in Southern California involved people with no history of travel to Africa and unknown links to each other.
Last week, the World Health Organization reported 43 cases of clade Ib mpox in countries where the virus is not normally found, involving people with no recent travel history to endemic areas, a sign of community transmission.
Of these, 22 involved sexual acts between men. The rest were related to travel and household transmission.
WHO reports that clade Ib poses a moderate public health risk to men who have sex with men, but a low risk to the general population.
Clade IIb infections (with a mortality rate of 1% to 4%) are responsible for more than 114,000 infections and 220 deaths worldwide since 2022. Early in the outbreak, it was widespread among men who had sex with men attending LGBTQ festivals, leather goods and BDSM events, and bathhouses.
Its spread has slowed sexual act Changes, including periods of abstinence, have led to a sharp decline in the number of infected people worldwide. Still, the virus continues to circulate, with approximately 9,000 clade II infections reported in 2024.
The JYNNEOS vaccine, a two-dose immunization approved to prevent smallpox and Mpox, remains the only vaccine used to control the spread of the virus.
Experts estimate the vaccine to be 75% to 80% effective against both clade I and clade II. The new recombinant strain has not been studied, but authorities expect it to be highly protective.
Dr Bogma Titanji, assistant professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, told the BBC that the new strain reflected what experts had been worried about as mpox continued to spread globally amid uneven vaccination coverage.
“The more we allow mpox to circulate, the more opportunity there is for the virus to recombine and adapt, further entrenching the mpox virus as an indelible human pathogen,” she said.
CDC’s Websitelast updated on December 5, does not mention any new recombinant strains.
UKHSA report From October, it said, the spread of clade I mpox is “likely to be brought under some control” by the country’s vaccination program for men who have sex with men, people with multiple partners, people who participate in group sex, and visitors to institutional sex settings such as swinger clubs, saunas and bathhouses.
In an interview in October defenderDr. Demetre Daskalakis, former White House deputy national MPOX response coordinator, said the communities most at risk in the event of a 2022 clade IIb outbreak – men who have sex with men, transgender and non-binary people, and people living with HIV – “need a renewed focus.”
He stressed that the JYNNEOS vaccine remains effective and there is no need for a booster shot for those who have already received two doses. As for people who received only one dose during the 2022 outbreak, “it’s not too late,” he said, noting that the second shot provides increased protection and there is no need to restart administration.
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
