Studies suggest that a new lineage of the mpox virus discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) in September last year is more efficient at human-to-human transmission, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, urging high-risk groups to get fully vaccinated for better protection.
Surveillance data from the WHO and other countries showed that mpox continues to spread globally, the centers said.
Clade I mpox is endemic to Central Africa, while Clade II, from West Africa, causes infections that are less severe, and has two subclades — Clade IIa and Clade IIb, the latter of which caused a global outbreak that started in 2022 and was found in local cases in Taiwan, the CDC said.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
Clade I mpox causes more severe illness and deaths, it said, adding that the DR Congo has reported more than 19,000 suspected mpox cases and more than 900 deaths since January last year.
CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) said a study by an international group of researchers published last month identified a new and distinct lineage of Clade I — Clade Ib, which emerged in September last year and appears to be better at spreading between people.
A WHO report published in November last year says that human-to-human transmission of mpox through close contact has been reported in the DR Congo since the 1970s, presumed to be primarily due to zoonotic transmission.
However, as the dynamics of Clade I mpox transmission in the DR Congo over the past few years are not well understood, the new features of sexual and unknown modes of transmission among people have raised additional concerns over the continuing rapid expansion of the outbreak in the country, the report said.
Clade I mpox has not yet been detected in Taiwan, but infection risks are possible with frequent international travel, so getting vaccinated is the best method to prevent the virus, the CDC said.
Studies suggest that the infection risk among unvaccinated people is about twice that of those who have received a dose of a vaccine, and five times that of those who are fully vaccinated with two shots, Tseng said.
The CDC urges eligible recipients of the mpox vaccine, including those who have engaged in risky sexual practices — having more than one sexual partner, or sex at a commercial sex venue or with sex workers — in the past year; those who have had sexually transmitted diseases; or those who have had sexual or intimate contact with a person who is engaged in high-risk sexual activities, to get fully vaccinated.
A total of 77,981 people in Taiwan have been vaccinated against mpox, as of Wednesday last week, but only 50,740 people are fully vaccinated with two doses, so it urges people to complete their vaccination for better protection, the centers said.
Since the CDC listed mpox as a category 2 notifiable communicable disease on June 23, 2022, a total of 367 cases (346 local and 21 imported cases) had been reported, as of Sunday, the centers said.
Eight of those cases were reported this year, including six local and two imported cases, it said, adding that risk of local infections remains.
Additional reporting by CNA
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