CDC alerts doctors to watch for strain of mpox that's spreading in Africa
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an alert Wednesday for doctors to watch for signs of a more severe strain of mpox that's currently spreading widely in parts of Africa.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an alert Wednesday for doctors to watch for signs of a more severe strain of mpox that's currently spreading widely in parts of Africa.
The agency's alert came hours after the World Health Organization's Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu tweeted that he will be convening a group of advisers to determine whether the mpox outbreak should be declared a public health emergency of international concern. The committee will meet as soon as possible, Tedros said.
Cases of the strain, called clade 1, haven't been reported outside of central and eastern Africa at this time, the CDC said in its alert. However, due to the risk of additional spread, the agency is recommending clinicians in the U.S. consider mpox in patients who have recently been in the Democratic Republic of Congo or to any neighboring country (Angola, Burundi, Central Africa Republic, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda or Zambia) and have symptoms of mpox.
Mpox, previously called monkeypox, is a virus that causes fevers, headaches, muscle aches and painful boils on the skin. It’s spread from person to person through close, skin-to-skin contact. It can be deadly.
The latest mpox strain is different from the virus that circulated globally in 2022, which mainly affected men who have sex with men. Those cases have decreased significantly in the U.S.
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