() – The first known case in the United States of a more severe strain of mpox or monkeypox was confirmed in California, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported this Saturday. The risk of clade I mpox to the public remains low, the agency said.
The person diagnosed with clade I mpox had recently traveled from East Africa, where an outbreak of this virus is occurring. The person was treated at a local medical facility and released, the CDC said. The patient is isolated at home and his symptoms are improving. The state and CDC are working to identify and track potential contacts.
Clade II monkeypox has been circulating in the United States since a large outbreak in 2022 and 2023. A more recent outbreak in Africa is driven by clade I, which is known to cause more severe disease.
The subtype that is responsible for most of the current spread, clade Ib, is relatively new. Travel-related cases of clade Ib mpox have been reported in Germany, India, Kenya, Sweden, Thailand, Zimbabwe, and the United Kingdom. Some countries outside Africa have also reported cases of local transmission.
“All recent cases of clade I monkeypox associated with travel out of Africa have been attributed to subclade Ib; There have been no deaths associated with these cases and the data available for a subset have detailed relatively mild disease courses,” the CDC detailed this Saturday.
“Historically, clade I monkeypox has caused more severe illness and death than clade II monkeypox; However, recent data demonstrate that clade I monkeypox infections in the current outbreak may not be as clinically severe as in previous outbreaks. While clade I monkeypox outbreaks used to have mortality rates around 3%-11%, more recent outbreaks have had mortality rates as low as about 1% when patients received good medical supervision and supportive clinical care. “Mortality rates are expected to be much lower in countries with stronger healthcare systems and treatment options, including the United States.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) says the number of monkeypox cases in Africa has been increasing, driven mainly by cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Uganda. On November 22, WHO will convene a meeting of its emergency committee on monkeypox to determine whether the current outbreak still constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.
Monkeypox or mpox is a viral disease related to the smallpox virus, which has now been eradicated. It can be spread through close contact, such as touching, kissing or having sex, as well as through contaminated materials such as sheets, clothing and needles, according to the WHO.
The initial symptoms are usually flu-like – fever, chills, exhaustion, headache and muscle weakness – often followed by a skin rash painful or stinging with raised lesions that form scabs and heal in several weeks.
The CDC says people can protect themselves from monkeypox by avoiding contact with people with symptoms and with contaminated materials such as clothing, bedding, sex toys, and toothbrushes. Eligible individuals are recommended to receive two mpox vaccine dose.
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