Mpox variant is becoming a major threat worldwide

A new, highly contagious, and severe strain of mpox virus, formerly known as monkeypox, is spreading across the globe following a major outbreak in Africa. Clade 1b, a new variant of clade 1, first reported last September among sex workers in the mining town of Kamituga in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has now mutated, affecting children younger than 15. On August 14, the World Health Organization and Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years after it spread to Congo’s neighboring countries, which had no previous record of mpox cases. (AFP)