More than 18700 mpox cases detected in Africa since January: health agency

Sub: Sci

Sec: Health

Mpox Outbreak in Africa:

As of 2024, Africa reported 18,737 suspected or confirmed mpox cases, including 1,200 cases in a single week.
The outbreak includes three virus strains, with the new Clade 1b being more deadly and transmissible, leading WHO to declare an international health emergency on August 14, 2024.

About Mpox:

Mpox belongs to the family Poxviridae, genus Orthopoxvirus, which is like the smallpox virus; therefore, smallpox vaccines can give protection against Mpox also due to cross-reactivity.
Mpox has two clades (clade I: Central African clade; clade II: West African clade).
Mpox can spread from animals to humans or human-to-human through sexual or close physical contact.
The new Clade 1b strain causes widespread skin eruptions, unlike previous variants that caused localized lesions.

2 mpox vaccines are used in recent years: MVA BN and LC16.

MVA BN:

Modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) is an attenuated (weakened) strain of the vaccinia virus.
It is being used as a vaccine (called MVA-BN, brand names: Imvanex in the EU, Imvamune in Canada, and Jynneos in the US) against smallpox and mpox, having fewer side effects than smallpox vaccines derived from other poxviruses.

LC16:

LC-16 (KM Biologics, Japan) is an attenuated partially replicating Lister strain of vaccinia10.
It is administered as a single dose, as ACAM2000 using a bifurcated needle–scarification method.
It is a third-generation smallpox vaccine.

Source: TH