Monkeypox

Decision comes as Mpox cases surge, particularly with the spread of the clade Ib variant beyond its origin in the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighbouring African nations, Europe, and Asia

Health officials said Saturday they have confirmed the first U.S. case of a new form of mpox that was first seen in eastern Congo. The person had travelled to eastern Africa and was treated in Northern California upon return, according to the California Department of Public Health. Symptoms are improving and the risk to the public is low. Mpox is a rare disease caused by infection with a virus that's in the same family as the one that causes smallpox. It is endemic in parts of Africa, where people have been infected through bites from rodents or small animals. Earlier this year, scientists reported the emergence of a new form of mpox in Africa that was spread through close contact including through sex. More than 3,100 confirmed cases have been reported just since late September, according to the World Health Organization. The vast majority of them have been in three African countries Burundi, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since then, cases of travellers with

Investigation of the Clade la strain of the virus circulation in Central Africa shows genetic mutations indicative of sustained human-to-human spread

British health officials say they have identified four cases of the new, more infectious version of mpox that first emerged in Congo, marking the first time the variant has caused a cluster of illness outside of Africa. Scientists said the risk to the public remains low. Authorities announced the first case of the new form of mpox in the UK last week, saying the case was being treated at a London hospital after recently travelling to countries in Africa with ongoing outbreaks. This week, the UK Health Security Agency said it had now identified three further cases who lived in the same household as the first patient. They too are now being treated at a hospital in London. Mpox is very infectious in households with close contact and so it is not unexpected to see further cases within the same household, said Susan Hopkins, chief medical advisor of the UK Health Security Agency. The new variant of mpox was first detected earlier this year in eastern Congo. Scientists believe it causes

Cases of the clade Ib strain of the virus have been confirmed in Sweden, Thailand, and India, outside of Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring nations

The first Mpox case in India this year involved a man from Haryana, with a less concerning strain. The second case, detected in Kerala, was the first instance of the more concerning clade 1b strain

Mpox is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus and there are two distinct strains of the virus i.e, clade 1 (with subclades 1a and 1b) and clade 2 (with subclades 2a and 2b)

The Kerala health department announced plans to release revised guidelines for the prevention and treatment of Mpox, a decision that came in the wake of the southern state reporting the country's first confirmed case of the new strain on Monday. The State Level Rapid Response Team (RRT) held a meeting to assess the overall situation in the state. After the meeting, state Health Minister Veena George said instructions have been given to take necessary action if the number of cases increases. "Isolation facilities have been set up in all districts, and monitoring has been strengthened, including at airports. Currently, testing facilities have been arranged in five laboratories. If required, testing facilities will be expanded to more labs," she said in a statement. Although the minister, in her statement, did not mention that the first confirmed case of the Mpox strain in India was found in a patient from Kerala, she announced that revised guidelines for the prevention and effective

Surge of Clade 1b cases in Africa led WHO to term Mpox a public health emergency

An Mpox patient admitted to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital here earlier this month has been discharged, the hospital officials confirmed. The 26-year-old patient, who had been admitted to the disaster ward dedicated to Mpox cases for almost 12 days, was discharged on Saturday. An official from the hospital confirmed "the only Mpox patient was discharged on September 21." The 26-year-old patient from Hisar, Haryana, was admitted to the hospital on September 8, with doctors confirming the diagnosis on September 9. The hospital has 20 isolation rooms, out of which 10 are for suspected cases and the remaining for confirmed Mpox patients. The Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital and the Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital have five rooms each for suspected Mpox cases and five each for confirmed ones. The World Health Organisation (WHO) last month declared Mpox a 'Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)' for the second time in view of its prevalence and spread a

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Slumped on the ground over a mound of dirt, Divine Wisoba pulled weeds from her daughter's grave. The 1-month-old died from mpox in eastern Congo in August, but Wisoba, 21, was too traumatised to attend the funeral. In her first visit to the cemetery, she wept into her shirt for the child she lost and worried about the rest of her family. When she was born, it was as if God had answered our prayers we wanted a girl, Wisoba said of little Maombi Katengey. "But our biggest joy was transformed into devastation. Her daughter is one of more than 6,000 people officials suspect have contracted the disease in South Kivu province, the epicentre of the world's latest mpox outbreak, in what the World Health Organisation has labelled a global health emergency. A new strain of the virus is spreading, largely through skin-to-skin contact, including but not limited to sex. A lack of funds, vaccines and information is making it difficult to stem the spread, according to alarmed disease experts. Mp

A suspected case of monkeypox infection has been reported from Malappuram district of Kerala after a man who recently returned from abroad showed symptoms of the disease. A district health official said that the patient arrived in Kerala a few days ago and, after falling sick, was first admitted to a private hospital. "From there he was admitted to the Manjeri Medical College. On suspecting that it might be a case of monkeypox, we sent his samples to the Kozhikode Medical College for testing. The results are awaited," the official said. A new case of monkeypox (Mpox) was reported last week from the national capital after a 26-year-old resident of Haryana's Hisar tested positive for the virus and was admitted to Delhi government-run LNJP Hospital. The Union Health Ministry had termed it an isolated case, similar to the earlier 30 cases reported in India from July 2022 onwards and said that it was not part of the current public health emergency reported by WHO which is regarding clad

Mpox crisis: Travellers who test positive will be required to undergo a 21-day mandatory quarantine, similar to the protocols implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic

The World Health Organisation on Friday said it has granted its first authorisation for use of a vaccine against mpox in adults, calling it an important step toward fighting the disease in Africa and beyond. The pre-qualification of the vaccine by Bavarian Nordic A/S means that donors like GAVI the Vaccine Alliance and UNICEF can buy it. But supplies are limited because there's only a single manufacturer. This first pre-qualification of a vaccine against mpox is an important step in our fight against the disease, both in the context of the current outbreaks in Africa, and in future, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The UN health agency chief called for urgent scale-up of procurement, donations and rollout to get the vaccine where it is needed most, along with other response measures. Under the WHO authorisation, the vaccine can be administered in people aged 18 or above in a two-dose regimen. The approval says that while the vaccine is not currently licensed fo

African countries recorded more than 100 mpox-related deaths in the past week, the continental health body said Thursday as it described the rising toll as not acceptable. Dr Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, said 107 new deaths and 3,160 new cases had been recorded in the past week, just a week after his agency and the UN World Health Organisation launched a continental response plan. In the one week, we lost 107 (people). It's too much. It's not acceptable, Kaseya said as he emphasised the need for stronger cross-border surveillance. Mpox belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox but causes milder symptoms like fever, chills and body aches. People with more serious cases can develop lesions on the face, hands, chest and genitals. In testing for the disease, men recorded the highest positivity rate at 63%, while children under the age of 15 were at 41%. Kaseya said there was need for increased testing and resources to .

The mpox patient undergoing treatment at LNJP Hospital here is recovering well, the hospital's Medical Director Suresh Kumar said on Thursday. "Mpox is a DNA virus and its rashes typically appear on the palms, soles and skin as maculopapular lesions, which are larger and more pronounced.These can also develop into ulcerated rashes and large skin lesions," Kumar told PTI Videos. "The patient at LNJP is recovering well, so there is no need to panic," he added. The Union Home Ministry had on Monday confirmed the mpox case, saying, "The individual, a young male, who recently travelled from a country experiencing ongoing mpox transmission, is currently isolated at a designated tertiary care isolation facility. The patient remains clinically stable and is without any systemic illness or comorbidities". The ministry had stated that it was an isolated case, similar to the 30 cases reported in India from July 2022 onwards. "It is not part of the current public health emergency reported by W

A small fraction of those doses could help curb what is now the biggest mpox outbreak on record in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring countries, disease experts say

Canada would not say to whom it would deliver the vaccines, or in what time frame

India's health ministry has reassured the public that the nation has robust preventive measures in place and is handling the case as per established protocols