New mpox lineage found in DRC could help fuel another global outbreak, study warns – CBC

Study finds distinct form of virus features mutations that are hallmark of efficient human transmission

Apr 17, 2024

A new lineage of the mpox virus linked to efficient human-to-human transmission has been identified in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) — and the researchers behind the finding are calling for swift action to “avert another global mpox outbreak.”

A team of Canadian and international scientists working on the ground in DRC began tracking a large mpox outbreak in the country’s Kamituga mining region last year. From October 2023 onward, cases spread rapidly with more than 240 suspected infections identified within five months. Out of roughly 100 confirmed cases, a third were among sex workers, the team wrote in their latest paper.

Mpox — previously known as monkeypox — burst onto the global landscape in 2022, spreading to dozens of countries through sexual networks that largely impacted men who have sex with men. Infections can lead to painful lesions and, in more severe cases, sepsis, lung nodules and even death.

Genomic analysis of the recent Kamituga outbreak uncovered what lead researcher Dr. Placide Mbala-Kingebeni calls an “alarming” finding: a new, distinct clade Ib lineage of the mpox virus featuring mutations that are a hallmark of efficient transmission between humans.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/mpox-drc-1.7175684