AN outbreak of a new mpox virus with ‘pandemic potential’ has broken out near an international airport raising fears it could spread to Europe.
Around 130 children and teenagers have tested postive for the highly contagious new strain in the refugee camps of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in Central Africa.
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The clade I strain detected in the DRC causes more severe illness and than the clade II virus that is known for triggering the global outbreak in 2022.
It’s also more deadly, with a fatality rate of around five per cent in adults and 10 per cent in children, compared to three per cent for its predecessor.
Since the beginning of 2024, more than 12,300 suspected cases, including 479 deaths have been reported in the country, according to medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
Many children have been infected, including newborn babies during pregnancy.
In April, alarm bells were raised when scientists dicovered a new mpox strain with “pandemic potential”.
Dubbed clade 1b, the virus appears to be better at spreading between people, mainly through sexual contact.
Unlike previous strains, it’s also good at being passed on through everyday touch alone.
Current research suggests the new bug devloped mutations that evade detection by some existing tests.
Earlier this month, authorities said it had reached the major city of Goma, which has an international airport that operates frequent direct flights to and from Europe.
“Pathogens don’t recognise borders,” Ben Oppenheim, a global health experts and senior director of US company Concentric by Ginkgo, told the Sun.
“Goma is an important regional transit point, which heightens the risk of the virus spreading regionally and potentially globally – including to Europe and the UK,” he said.
In fact, the virus is already crossing borders, Trudie Lang, professor of global health research at Oxford University, added.
The virus has been officially declared in some of Congo’s neighbouring countries Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda.
“It is quite possible people with the infection and who are infectious could get on a flight and transmit this elsewhere,” Prof Trudie explained.
What is Mpox?
Mpox, formally known as monkeypox, is a viral infection that spreads through close contact, causing flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions.
A milder version of mpox sparked a global epidemic in 2022 when it spread to more than 100 countries – including the UK.
Symptoms of mpox include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, and exhaustion.
A rash can develop, often beginning on the face, which then spreads to other parts of the body, including the genitals.
The rash can look like chickenpox or syphilis, and scabs can form which then fall off.
The incubation period is usually from six to 13 days but can range from five to 21 days.
Mpox in the UK
Government data has shown 3,553 cases of mpox were recorded in the UK in 2022.
The Department for Health has said: “The outbreak has mainly been in gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men without documented history of travel to endemic countries.”
But cases have fallen sharply in the past six months as a result of vaccination and testing.
At the time of writing, only 20 cases have been recorded in the UK in 2023.
The mpox symptoms that have nothing to do with spots
The most obvious mpox symptom is the hallmark spots.
According to the NHS, these lesions go through four stages, from flat spots to raised spots, to blisters to scabs.
But people are also likely to experience flu-like symptoms, which will begin between five and 21 days after infection.
The symptoms often get better by themselves over two to four weeks.
The NHS says these include:
- Inflammation of the rectum (proctitis) – for example, pain or bleeding from your back passage
- High temperature (fever)
- Headache
- Flu-like symptoms, including muscle and back aches, shivering and tiredness
- Swollen glands that feel like new lumps (in the neck, armpits or groin)
If you have some of these symptoms and believe you could have monkeypox, you should stay at home, avoid close contact with others and get medical help by phone until you’re assessed.
There are some complications associated with mpox, such as bacterial infection from skin lesions, mpox affecting the brain (encephalitis), heart (myocarditis) or lungs (pneumonia)
