Travelers shouldn't be too worried about mpox yet
By: Nathan Diller
USA Today
..... With mpox cases on the move following a surge in cases in Africa, travelers may fear risks to their health.
.....
The disease - formerly called Monkeypox - has been spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other African counties. At least a dozen African countries have seen more than 2,800 confirmed cases this year [2024] and over 500 deaths, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Suspected cases number more than 17,000 across the continent/
..... The first cases outside Africa was detected in Sweden last week. [08/15/2024] Thailand had detected an mpox case in a European man who arrived from Africa last week [08/15/2024] and is awaiting test results to determine the strain, a disease control official said on Wednesday. [08/21/2024]
..... The World Heath Organization has declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years.
..... But travelers don't need to be too concerned yet.
..... "I think they ought to note this," Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert and professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told USA Today. "I don't know that they should be worried."
..... Mpox is endemic in parts of Central and West Africa, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
..... "People usually get mpox through contact with the skin lesions or bodily fluids of infected wild animals in Africa (alive or dead) or humans, including respiratory secretions, or through contact with materials contaminated with the virus such as bedding, clothing and sex toys," the health agency said on its website. The virus can also be contracted during sex or other close contact.
..... Headache, muscle aches, are among the common symptoms.
..... The type circulating in Africa, known as clade I, is different form clade II, which has been in the U.S. following a global outbreak in 2022. A new variant, clade 1b, to be more transmissible and deadly.
.....
While clade II cases in the U.S. have primarily been seen among men who have sex with men - through anyone can become infected - Schaffner said the clade I cases in Africa appear to be "more generally distributed."
..... Travers who got vaccinated for mpox in the wake of the 2022 outbreak don't need a booster at the moment, according to Schaffner.
..... He recommended travelers going to African countries where the virus has been circulating get vaccinated before they go. The CDC has a Level 2 advisory in place for the DRC and neighboring countries, warning travelers to "practice enhanced precautions."
..... "I think if you're traveling to other countries at the moment, there's essentially no risk," Schaffner said.
..... The CDC also recommended travelers to the DRC or neighboring countries avoid close contact with people who have symptoms of mpox and wild animals such as rats, squirrels and monkeys - living or dead.
..... Schaffner said infectious disease experts expect further spread of mpox to other countries and recommended travelers stay turned for developments.
..... "The world is a very small place," he said. "These viruses travel with us. They don't need passports."
..... Contributing: Reuters