A new, more dangerous variant of Monkeypox has made the jump from animals to humans, according to a study that also calls for covid-style measures in response.
A new strain of virulent Monkeypox, potentially with an 11 percent mortality rate, has been identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a recent study published Sunday which also called for measures such as ‘targeted vaccination’.
This strain is believed to have jumped from animals to humans between July and September 2023, according to the study titled ‘Sustained Human Outbreak of a New MPXV Clade I Lineage in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Clade I lineage of Monkeypox is mostly found in Central Africa in areas like the Congo. It is characterized with severe symptoms and high mortality of up to 11 percent. A variant of Clade I, Clade Ib is the subject of the recent study.
The study called for many of the measures that were enacted under Covid.
“Urgent measures, including reinforced, expanded surveillance, contact tracing, case management support, and targeted vaccination are needed to contain this new pandemic-potential Clade Ib outbreak,” the study said.
The results of the study show that about 7 months ago a Monekypox variant jumped from animals to humans, and has been spread chiefly through sexual intercourse.
“The Kamituga mpox outbreak spread rapidly, with 241 suspected cases reported within 5 months of the first reported case. Of 108 confirmed cases, 29% were sex workers, highlighting sexual contact as a key mode of infection. Genomic analysis revealed a distinct MPXV Clade Ib lineage, divergent from previously sequenced Clade I strains in DRC. Predominance of APOBEC3-type mutations and estimated time of emergence around mid-September 2023 suggest recent human-to-human transmission,” the study said.
2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump lambasted the Biden Administration for allowing illegal aliens from the Congo to enter the U.S. during a rally speech on Saturday.
Illegal aliens are murderers, they’re rapists, and some of them, I’m sure, are completely good individuals. pic.twitter.com/2mykSQdhSM
— Sean Seraphim Alexander Miller (@IWArchivist) April 15, 2024
The study explained what Monkeypox is and described its lineages and sub-variants.
“Monkeypox virus (MPXV) attracted global attention in 2022 during a widespread outbreak linked primarily to sexual contact. Clade I MPXV is prevalent in Central Africa and characterized by severe disease and high mortality, while Clade II is confined to West Africa and associated with milder illness. A Clade IIb MPXV emerged in Nigeria in 2017, with protracted human-to-human transmission a forerunner of the global Clade II B.1 lineage outbreak in 2022. In October 2023, a large mpox outbreak emerged in the Kamituga mining region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), of which we conducted an outbreak investigation,” the study said.
A number of accounts on Twitter have documented pictures of people with Monkeypox from the African nation, noting how many of these individuals are being brought into the U.S. illegally through the open border.
Back in 2022 the Biden administration labeled Monkeypox a public health emergency and developed an outbreak response along with the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) giving its view on the matter.
