China Reports an Outbreak of Virulent Monkeypox Strain

China Reports an Outbreak of Virulent Monkeypox Strain

At the end of 2023, I reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that a more infectious mpox strain (i.e., the rebranded monkeypox) had been found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This strain spread and had a higher infection fatality rate than previous strains involved in 2022’s “Monkeypox Emergency. “

In addition to Central Africa, the new strain—Clade 1B, which is more easily transmissible by skin contact and causes more severe infections—has been reported in Sweden, Thailand, Germany, and California.  As a reminder, Clade1B is much more transmissible through household-level interactions than other strains, which are passed through sexual contact.

Travel-related cases have also been reported in Belgium, Canada, India, Oman, Pakistan, Sweden, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.

Chinese public health officials have now detected the new mutated strain of the mpox virus for the first time, as the pathogen continues to spread globally following the World Health Organization’s declaration of a global health emergency in Africa last year.

China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday it has found a cluster of a new mpox strain, known as clade Ib, with the source being traced back to a foreign national who has traveled to and lived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

According to reports, the outbreak encompasses 4 cases of Clade 1B mpox.

In a statement, China CDC said it quickly launched investigations that involve state and provinces, such as Zhejiang, Guangdong, Beijing, and Tianjin.

The four close contacts of the index case-patient mainly had mild symptoms, such as rash. No additional infections have been found among the patients’ general contacts. The patients are receiving treatment and are under monitoring.

China is the twelfth country outside of Africa to detect clade 1 mpox, which is different from the clade 2 mpox virus spreading globally. The novel clade 1b virus is thought to spread more easily among contacts, including in households. Most cases have been linked to travel to affected African countries.

Legal Insurrection readers may be heartened to learn that Chinese authorities have launched a joint prevention and control mechanism to carry out epidemiological investigations, risk assessment, and case management.

The country’s National Health Commission said mpox would be managed as a Category B infectious disease, enabling officials to take emergency measures such as restricting gatherings, suspending work and school, and sealing off areas when there is an outbreak of a disease.

Let’s hope these control measures work for China better than the ones for COVID-19. Otherwise, 2025’s “Pride Month” might be interesting…especially as it is now being reported that France has recorded its first case of this infectious strain.

France’s health ministry today reported the country’s first clade 1b mpox case, which involves a person from Brittany who hadn’t traveled abroad, but was in contact with two people who had returned from Central Africa.

In a statement, officials said an investigation is underway to determine how the patient contracted the virus and to identify others who may be at risk. They said the overall risk to the general public in France and Europe is low, but sporadic cases linked to outbreak countries may occur.

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