(Reuters) – The World Health Organization declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, following an outbreak of the viral infection in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has spread to neighbouring countries.
A new form of the virus, clade Ib, triggered global concern as it seems to be spreading quickly and little is known about the strain. The disease transmits through close contact.
The following are the countries that have reported cases of clade Ib mpox:
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Two strains of mpox are spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo – the endemic clade I and the new clade Ib, which spreads more easily through close contact, including sexual.
The current outbreak has seen 27,000 cases and more than 1,100 deaths since January 2023, largely among children.
SWEDEN
Global health officials on August 15 confirmed an infection with a new strain of the mpox virus in Sweden, the first sign of its spread outside the African continent.
Swedish health officials said at a press conference that the person was infected while in Africa with the clade Ib type of mpox involved in the recent outbreak. The person is receiving treatment.
BURUNDI
Burundi’s Ministry of Health has investigated and confirmed 61 cases of clade Ib mpox distributed across several districts as of August 9. No deaths had been documented at the time of reporting, according to WHO data.
KENYA
On July 29, Kenya’s health ministry confirmed one case of clade Ib mpox, the first-ever case of mpox identified in the country. No deaths had been reported as of August 8, according to WHO data.
RWANDA
As of August 7, four confirmed clade Ib mpox cases and zero deaths had cumulatively been reported by the country, according to WHO data.
UGANDA
Uganda identified two cases of clade Ib mpox, the first confirmed mpox cases identified in the country. Investigations revealed that transmission occurred outside Uganda and no secondary transmission had been linked to the two cases as of August 2.
No deaths have been reported as of August 8, according to WHO data.
(Reporting by Sneha S K and Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
