The suspected case has been identified in a European traveller.
Mpox Awareness Updates
A passenger walks past the mpox awareness banners at Anna International Airport terminal in Chennai (Picture: AFP via Getty Images).
A suspected case of the new more dangerous strain of mpox has been detected in a European traveller in Thailand. The 66-year-old man arrived from an unnamed African country on August 14 and he has had minimal contact with others since he arrived, according to health authorities. Governments across the globe are on high alert over the spread of the new clade 1 mpox variant. This variant is of concern because it spreads faster and has a higher mortality rate in comparison to the milder version of the clade 2 outbreak that was recorded in Europe, Australia, the US and many other countries in 2022. The clade 1 variant is now endemic in central Africa and is behind the recently discovered variant in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mpox has spread to Sweden while cases have also been reported in Pakistan and the Philippines.
Recent Updates
August 22, 2024 9:00 am
Minister visits Africa as UK steps up support amid mpox outbreak
Jasper King
The government has stepped up its support following the outbreak of mpox as Africa Minister Lord Collins visits the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He announced £3.1m of UK funding for a new partnership with Unicef. The funding announcement follows a declaration from the World Health Organisation (WHO) last week that mpox is now a global health emergency. Lord Collins said: ‘Working together, with our partners and using the expertise and dedication of Congolese scientists, including those at the world-leading research centre I have visited in DRC, our support will play an important role in ensuring global health security for all. By protecting the health and well-being of communities across DRC, and by helping contain these outbreaks, we reduce the risk of diseases spreading further afield. This will ultimately benefit us all.’
August 21, 2024 10:03 pm
Argentina health officials rule out suspected case of mpox on grains ship
Brooke Davies
Health officials in Argentina said on Wednesday that a test to determine if a crew member on a quarantined grains cargo ship was infected with the mpox virus had come back negative, according to a statement from the health ministry. The crew member, an Indian national who had developed cyst-like skin lesions on his chest and face, was working on the ship that was traveling along a key commodities route near the inland river port city of Rosario. Authorities had quarantined the ship in the Parana River as a precaution. In its statement, the health ministry said the individual tested negative for mpox, but positive for chicken pox.
August 21, 2024 10:02 pm
Bavarian Nordic gets 440,000 dose contract to supply smallpox and mpox vaccines
Brooke Davies
Danish biotech firm Bavarian Nordic said on Wednesday that it has received a contract to supply 440,000 doses of its smallpox and mpox vaccines to an undisclosed European country. The company said the latest order was anticipated as part of its outlook for the year, and has no impact on the remaining capacity for its smallpox and mpox vaccine. Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that an outbreak of mpox, a viral infection that spreads through close contact, represents a global health emergency for the second time in two years. Bavarian Nordic can still supply up to 10 million doses of our smallpox and mpox vaccine by the end of next year, with 2 million doses of this capacity available during the remaining part of this year, said CEO Paul Chaplin. The company could ramp up production of its mpox vaccine even before having orders lined up, based on the outcome of talks this week with the WHO, Chaplin told Reuters on Tuesday.
August 21, 2024 10:00 pm
UN migration agency appeals for $18.5 million in for mpox outbreak
Brooke Davies
The United Nation’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) appealed on Wednesday for $18.5 million in assistance to provide health care services to people impacted by the mpox outbreak in East and Southern Africa, according to a statement. ‘The spread of mpox across East, Horn, and Southern Africa is a grave concern, especially for the vulnerable migrant, highly mobile populations and displaced communities often overlooked in such crises,’ said IOM Director General Amy Pope.
August 21, 2024 3:30 pm
Is there an mpox vaccine?
Jasper King
Yes there is a vaccine for mpox. The UN health agency recommends several vaccines for use against mpox. At present, WHO recommends use of MVA-BN or LC16 vaccines, or the ACAM2000 vaccine when the others are not available. Only people who are at risk of exposure to mpox should be considered for vaccination. Travellers who may be at risk based on an individual risk assessment with their healthcare provider, may wish to consider vaccination. Mass vaccination which rolled out during the coronavirus pandemic, is not currently recommended. Research has led to the development of newer and safer vaccines for the now eradicated disease smallpox. Some of these vaccines have been approved in various countries for use against mpox.
August 21, 2024 2:38 pm
Health chiefs in Guernsey ‘closely monitoring’ mpox situation
Jasper King
The first case of the more dangerous strain was found outside Guernsey last week (Picture: AFP via Getty Images). Health chiefs in Guernsey have confirmed they are ‘closely monitoring’ the mpox outbreak after a case of the clade 1 variant was found in Sweden last week. Director of Public Health Dr Nicola Brink said a ‘multi-disciplinary team’ would meet to discuss the outbreak this week. She said: ‘We are monitoring the global situation closely and are keeping it under review.’ It comes after the World Health Organisation (WHO) said last week that mpox is now a global health emergency.
August 21, 2024 12:53 pm
Minister visits Africa as UK steps up support to tackle mpox outbreak
Jasper King
The government has stepped up its support following the outbreak of mpox as Africa Minister Lord Collins visits the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He announced £3.1m of UK funding for a new partnership with Unicef. The funding announcement follows a declaration from the World Health Organisation (WHO) last week that mpox is now a global health emergency. Lord Collins said: ‘Working together, with our partners and using the expertise and dedication of Congolese scientists, including those at the world-leading research centre I have visited in DRC, our support will play an important role in ensuring global health security for all. By protecting the health and well-being of communities across DRC, and by helping contain these outbreaks, we reduce the risk of diseases spreading further afield. This will ultimately benefit us all.’
August 21, 2024 12:12 pm
Case of mpox reported in Philippines is clade 2 variant
Jasper King
A case of the virus was reported in the country on Monday but it was unknown which variant it was at the time (Picture: Reuters). A recently detected mpox case in the Philippines is the mild clade 2 variant, it has been confirmed. Health Secretary for the country Teodoro Herbosa told the ANC news channel: ‘The mpox we found was the original variety and probably it could have been circulating in our community.’ The country announced on Monday that it had detected a case of the virus but it was unknown at the time which variant it was. The 33-year-old Filipino male who had no travel history outside the Philippines is now recovering in hospital.
August 21, 2024 11:31 am
Symptoms of mpox virus
Jasper King
Mpox symptoms usually take about 5 to 21 days to first appear. According to the NHS, if you get infected with mpox, it usually takes between 5 and 21 days for the first symptoms to appear. The first symptoms of mpox include:
- a high temperature
- a headache
- muscle aches
- backaches
- swollen glands
- shivering (chills)
- exhaustion
- joint pain
August 21, 2024 10:37 am
Map shows spread of mpox clade 1 variant
Jasper King
This map shows the confirmed cases of the clade 1 variant of mpox and countries where risk of exposure has been recorded (Picture: Metro graphics). The above map shows countries across the world where the new clade 1 variant of mpox has been detected. Confirmed cases where the clade 1 variant has been recorded include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Congo, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Uganda, Kenya, Sweden, and Thailand. Countries where risk of exposure has been reported include South Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia, and Angola.
August 21, 2024 10:18 am
Africa calls for solidarity rather than travel bans over mpox outbreak
Jasper King
Health officials in Africa have appealed for the international community not to impose travel bans over the spread of mpox (Picture: AP). The new clade 1 variant has been linked to about 1,400 new cases and 24 deaths in Africa so far. Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said: ‘We hear from here and there that you want to apply travel bans … we need solidarity, we need you to provide appropriate support, this vaccine is expensive. I clearly request our partners to stop thinking about travel bans against Africa, that will bring us back to the unfair treatment from the Covid period and not help the world to move forward.’
August 21, 2024 9:59 am
Thailand detects suspected case of mpox in European traveller
Jasper King
A suspected case of the clade 1 variant has been detected in a European traveller in Thailand. The 66-year-old man arrived from an unnamed African country on August 14. He has had minimal contact with other people since he arrived in the country, health authorities confirmed. Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, head of the Department of Disease Control, told Reuters: ‘After he arrives from the flight there is very little timeframe where he comes into contact with others. He arrived around 6pm and on the next day, 15 August, he went to see the doctor at the hospital.’ Authorities are monitoring 43 individuals who may have been in contact with the patient. ‘We have done a test and they definitely have mpox and it’s definitely not Clade 2,’ Mr Thongchai told AFP. ‘We are convinced the person has the Clade 1 variant, but we have to wait to see the final result in the lab for two more days.’
August 20, 2024 10:55 pm
One dead after catching mpox in Ivory Coast
Brooke Davies
Ivory Coast health authorities on Tuesday reported 28 cases of mpox, with one person dying from the virus that has killed hundreds in Democratic Republic of Congo. The total has risen from six declared cases on August 1. The National Public Hygiene Institute (INHP) recorded ’28 confirmed cases including one death’ across the country as of Tuesday, said an INHP doctor Daouda Coulibaly. The fatal case and some others were recorded in the country’s economic capital Abidjan, the INHP said. Coulibaly said tests were being carried out to identify the strain of the latest mpox cases.
August 20, 2024 10:54 pm
Ship in Argentina’s Parana river is quarantined over suspected mpox case
Brooke Davies
A ship on Argentina’s Parana River near the grains hub of Rosario has been quarantined due to a suspected case of mpox, local media reported on Tuesday. The ship is flying a Liberian flag, outlet Infobae reported, citing sources from Argentina’s naval league. According to the outlet, the ship’s captain reported that a person on board with ‘symptoms compatible with the virus’ required medical assistance. Test results are pending, Infobae reported. So far in Argentina, the nation’s health authority has confirmed eight cases of mpox.
August 20, 2024 7:46 pm
France to donate 100,000 mpox vaccines
Brooke Davies
France will donate 100,000 mpox vaccine doses to countries suffering from the emergency, as it readies vaccination centres at home, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said Tuesday. Attal said France would donate the vaccines through the European Union. The World Health Organisation has declared the surge of mpox cases in Africa to be an international health emergency and the United States has said it will donate 50,000 mpox vaccine doses to Democratic Republic of Congo. The UN health agency has called for a major increase in vaccine production and said that a vaccination campaign must be a key priority for affected countries. Last week, the health agency of the African Union said some 200,000 vaccines would be deployed across Africa, thanks to agreements with the EU and Danish drug company Bavarian Nordic, whose vaccine was approved in 2019. Some 232 vaccination sites are in place in case of an eventual outbreak in France, Attal posted on the X social media platform. ‘We aim to be ready to face all scenarios and all risks,’ he said. No mpox cases have yet been reported in France.
August 20, 2024 3:40 pm
Is mpox an STD?
Jasper King
The virus can be spread through skin-to-skin contact during sex (Picture: AFP via Getty Images). While mpox can be spread through close contact, which includes skin-to-skin contact during sex, kissing and oral sex, research into whether monkeypox is an STD is still mixed. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that monkeypox diagnosis, treatment, and vaccination be incorporated into existing sexual health services. A study published in the National Library of Medicine found that the virus should be regarded as an STD in countries where it is not endemic because most transmissions reported occurred in sexual settings. But other research published in the Oxford Academic found while sexual contact is a primary means of spread, the classification of mpox as an STD is inaccurate because it ignores the historical impact of the disease in central and west Africa. This study suggests research should focus on destigmatising the virus and helping communities to protect themselves against it with additional resources.
August 20, 2024 2:09 pm
Swiss pharmaceutical company working to enhance lab testing capacity for mpox worldwide
Jasper King
A Swiss pharmaceutical company called Roche is working to enhance laboratory testing capacity for mpox worldwide. The company confirmed it is working with governments, healthcare providers, and organisations to combat the outbreak, as well as providing training for labs across the African continent. The news comes after the World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed last week that mpox is now a global health emergency.
August 20, 2024 12:07 pm
Mpox map shows countries affected by new variant
Jasper King
This map shows the confirmed cases of the clade 1 variant of mpox and countries where risk of exposure has been recorded (Picture: Metro.co.uk). The above map shows countries across the world where the new clade 1 variant of mpox has been detected. Confirmed cases where the clade 1 variant has been recorded include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Congo, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Uganda, Kenya, and Sweden. Countries where risk of exposure has been reported include South Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia, and Angola.
August 20, 2024 11:12 am
No cause for concern over mpox – health chiefs in Jersey say
Jasper King
Health chiefs on the island of Jersey have said there is ‘no significant cause for concern’ over the spread of mpox. The news comes after Sweden recorded a case of the clade 1 variant just hours after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a global health emergency. Dr Rajesh Hembrom told islanders: ‘There is no significant cause for concern at this stage but the situation is being monitored closely. Jersey currently has adequate stocks of the vaccine, and we are awaiting further guidance from the UK Health Security Agency. We expect this in the coming days.’
August 20, 2024 11:06 am
Mpox not the new Covid, WHO official says
Jasper King
A World Health Organisation (WHO) official has said that mpox, both clade 1 and clade 2 strains, are not the ‘new Covid’ because authorities understand how to control it. Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said during a media briefing: ‘We can and must tackle mpox together. So will we choose to put the systems in place to control and eliminate mpox globally? Or we will enter another cycle of panic and neglect? How we respond now and in the years to come will prove a critical test for Europe and the world.’ He added that the focus on the new clade 1 strain gives Europe a chance to refocus on the less severe clade 2 variety, including better public health advice and surveillance.