The Mpox (monkeypox) virus has made a recent surge, and you may have seen news of it spreading rapidly across Central Africa in the past few months, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a global health emergency. It’s been spreading mainly in parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and has spread from rural to urban areas, putting it on track to be more lethal than the 2022 global Mpox outbreak that killed over 95,000 people. It’s also been reported in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, all countries in Africa. But what does this all mean? Why now? And can we take what we learned from the COVID pandemic to fight this new threat?
First, we’ll take a look at the Mpox virus itself. It’s a member of the genus Orthopoxvirus, and it’s closely related to smallpox. You might think it’s also related to chickenpox, but they’re actually part of two different evolutionary families. Mpox is often diagnosed by analyzing viral DNA in tissue or blood samples, although some common symptoms include fever, aches, and rashes (specifically, lesions, or sores, that can become filled with pus). Children are more vulnerable to the virus.
Not all Mpox viruses are the same. There are two widely known strains: clade I and clade II. Clade II is mostly responsible for the current outbreak, and clade I has been active in central Africa for decades. Specifically, the strain clade Ib has continuously been spread through sexual contact, and it’s thought to have been with humans for a while due to the presence of genetic mutations that scientists think were caused by the human immune system. Researchers estimate around a 3.5% fatality rate, but this is likely an overestimate since other health conditions such as malnutrition and HIV could be contributing to this number. You can protect yourself from Mpox and similar viruses by wearing protective equipment (masks, gloves), cooking food thoroughly, and getting vaccinated early.
So what’s being done about this outbreak? Currently, there isn’t any specific treatment approved for Mpox. Antiviral medications developed for smallpox are used in some cases, but generally only symptoms are targeted for treatment. Vaccines for Mpox do exist, however, and are very similar to smallpox vaccines. They work by injecting a weakened version of the virus and training your immune system to fight it, so that if you were to encounter the real Mpox virus, your body can more easily fend it off from that previous experience. Think of it as studying the day before so that you feel confident for a test.
Experts believe at least 10 million doses of the vaccine will be needed by Africa to stop this outbreak. The US, EU, Japan, and Nordic countries have all pledged millions of doses to Africa, pending WHO approval. The sheer number of doses needed isn’t the only barrier in Africa, though. Poor public infrastructure in less-developed countries can slow down vaccine distribution and administration. This is where experts can take the lessons they’ve learned from previous Mpox outbreaks and the COVID-19 pandemic to speed up the process. As new research is being done to develop more effective vaccines and treatments and better understand the mysterious Mpox virus, scientists are hopeful that future pandemics can be caught and ended sooner than ever before.
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