US prepares fro new strain of mpox
Swedish travels catches first case out of Africa
By: Eduardo Cuevas
USA Today
..... A highly contagious and severe strain of mpox is crossing continents and U.S. officials are preparing for its eventual arrival here.
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U.S. officials are pleading with the public to take precautions now that mpox has been declared a global public health emergency after the first case was identified outside of Africa.
..... On Thursday, [08/15/2024] Swedish officials said they recorded their first case of mpox, which spreads with skin contact. The announcement came a day after the World Heath Organizing issued its second emergency declaration in two years due to the recent outbreak in and around the Democratic Republic of Congo, in central Africa.
..... The mpox virus circulating in Congo and a dozen other African countries, and now Sweden, is a different strain than the one that has circulate in the U.S. since a global outbreak began in 2022. In the U.S., the virus, known as mpox clade II, has primarily circulated among men who have sex with men.
..... The latest outbreak of mpox claed I began in Congo, affecting a region that already has experienced several destabilizing conflicts. Mpox cladeI is considered more transmissible and the symptoms are more severe. It has infected tens of thousands of people.
..... The U.S. said it would donate 50,000 vaccines doses to Congo. But experts predict that millions more will be needed to help stop the virus. Vaccine manufacturers will have to increase production dramatically.
..... Mpos, previously known as Monkeypox is a virus that spreads to people from animals and was named monkeypox because that's the animal it was first discovered in, not because monkeys are the source of infections. It comes from the same virus family as smallpox and can pass from person to person through physical contact, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
..... It was fist discovered in 1958 and the first human case occurred in 1970 in Congo. Infection is usually mild, but it can result in death. It causes symptoms similar to flu, as well as pus-filled skin lesions.
..... There are two types of mpox - clade I and Clade II. Clade I is endemic in central Africa, while clade II is endemic in West Africa. A new variant of Clade I, called 1b, appears to spread more easily.
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On Thursday, [08/15/2024] David Daigle, a CDC spokesperson, said the traveler in Sweden identified with the disease had visited an affected African country. This was the first case of the new strain to be documented outside Africa. The patient sought medical care and is being treated, Daigle said in an email.
..... "Given how widespread the cladeI outbreak is in central and eastern Africa, a case diagnosed in an occasional traveler is not unexpected," he said. "Rapid detection and containment of any mpox case are key to stopping mpox spread."
..... There were no reported cases of clade I mpox in the U.S. as of Thursday. [08/15/2024]
federal officials say the risk is low, and Daigle sadi teh CDC is moniotriing the European case.
..... The CDC issued a health alert and travel notice about the stronger mpox strain, recommending providers and health agencies monitor for signs and ask patients about recent travel to affected areas.
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Since 2022, the U.S. has had outbreaks of clade II mpox with a few cases are identified each week, according to recent CDC data. Overall, more than 32,000 people in the U.S. have been infected and 58 have died of mpox.
..... Vaccines are available and recommended for people form higher-risk populations. the approved JYNNEOS vaccine, a two-dose series administered at least four weeks apart, provides protection against both strains.
..... since August 2022, the federal Administration for Strategic Preparation and Deadness has procured and distributed over 1 million vials of the JUNNEOS vaccine across the U.S., agency spokesperson Spencer Pretecrum said in an email. but more than 75% of at-risk populations in the U.S. have not been fully vaccinated against mpox, a CDC analysis found. Some estimates say just a quarter of people who got an initial dose came back for a second dose. Full protection against the virus requires both does.
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The vaccine is highly effective, a recent CDC report showed. Fully vaccinated people became infected in less than 1% of cases. And for those who did, infections were milder compared to unvaccinated people.
..... Federal officials recommend this vaccine for people 18 and older who fall into these categories:
* Gay men: bisexual men; men who have sex with men; and transgender and non-binary people. People in these categories are at risk if they've had at least one new diagnosis of a sexually transmitted infection in the past six months; have more than one sex partner; have had sex at a commercial sex venue or at a large public event where mpox transmission was occurring.
* Sexual partners of people in the previous category, or people who plan to have these sexual experiences.
..... Dr. Trish Perl, a professor of infectious disease and geographic medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical center, in Dallas, said the mpox vaccine provides prolonged immune protection.