Chinese health officials have detected a new mutated strain of mumps, called clade IB, as the virus continues to spread to more countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Mpox a global public health emergency last year.

China’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a cluster of cases linked to a foreigner who had traveled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and stayed there.

Four additional cases were found in people who had close contact with this individual. Symptoms in these patients are mild and include skin rashes and blisters.

Mpox is spread by close contact and causes pus-filled sores on the skin as well as flu-like symptoms. Although it is not usually serious, in rare cases it can be fatal.

In August last year, WHO declared Mpox a global health emergency for the second time in two years, after it spread in Congo to neighboring countries.

The outbreak in Congo initially involved an endemic strain called Clade I. However, the clade IB variant is believed to spread more easily through regular close contact, including sexual contact.

This new variant has since spread to neighboring countries such as Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, prompting a WHO emergency declaration.

In response, China announced in August last year that it would monitor people and goods entering the country for MPOX.

The National Health Commission has also classified Mpox as a Category B infectious disease. It allows authorities to take emergency measures such as restricting public gatherings, suspending work and school, or closing down areas during an outbreak.

India reported the Mpox clade IB strain in September last year. This new strain is known for its high virulence, leading to more severe symptoms and complications.

Patients infected with this strain have a higher risk of experiencing serious health problems, including a high mortality rate of up to 10%.

According to a report published in Nature, “Clade IB appears to be distinct, and is spreading largely through contact between humans, including through sex. There are approximately 18,000 suspected cases of mpox, many of them in children. “, and there could potentially be at least 600 deaths from the disease reported this year (2024) in the DRC alone.”

Other health conditions may affect mortality rates. For example, people with untreated HIV are twice as likely to die from mpox than the general population. This is especially important in many African countries where large numbers of people are living with HIV.

What is MPOX?

Monkeypox is a serious disease caused by the monkeypox virus, which was first identified in 1958. It causes fever, chills, body aches, headache, muscle aches and fatigue, with the major symptoms being a skin rash that develops into blisters and sores.

This virus also causes swelling in the lymph nodes in some cases.

A person infected with the virus must be isolated because the infection can easily be transferred to another person in close contact through humans, animals, and contaminated materials.

While most cases of mpox are mild and can resolve on their own. Severe cases require antiviral treatment.

There are two distinct clades of viruses: clade I (with subclades Ia and Ib) and clade II (with subclades IIa and IIb).

The one that caused the WHO emergency declaration was clade IB.

In September, WHO approved the first MPOX vaccine, MVA-BN, for the prequalification list. The MVA-BN vaccine is given as a two-dose injection four weeks apart, and is approved for people over the age of 18.

When stored in cool conditions, it can remain stable at temperatures between 2 and 8 °C for up to eight weeks.

(With inputs from Reuters)