Monkeypox Strain Clade 1b Spreads in Europe, Leading to Push for Vaccination
Cases of locally acquired mutant mpox increase in Europe. Meanwhile, Charlotte, North Carolina recently reported a 10-case outbreak of “new strain” of the virus.
The last time I reported on monkeypox, the virulent, more transmissible strain known as “Clade 1b” was reported in Los Angeles County. Unlike other cases of this type of mpox, these cases were locally acquired and did not involve travel to areas of Africa with significant outbreaks.
While there have been no new updates or reports of further cases in Los Angeles, Clade 1b mpox is on the rise in Europe, and there is a major push to increase vaccination rates.
Cases of a potentially lethal variant of the mpox virus have been spreading across countries in Europe, hospitalising victims amid a rush to procure vaccines.
At least 45 cases of the clade 1b mpox variant have been recorded across the continent since August, when the WHO classified the outbreak as a global health emergency. Clade 1b poses a particularly dangerous threat, with a reported mortality rate as high as 10 per cent in children.
Outbreaks of the more threatening variant have surged in central Africa in recent years, but Europe has now started to record cases by the dozen after an international “failure” to deliver vaccines to the populations most at risk, experts say.
In large part, the alarm is being sounded because, as in LA County, the European cases are also locally acquired. At least the health official issuing the statement was honest about the population most at risk.
“The situation has changed drastically in Europe since the end of August,” Dr Karagiannis said. “We now have local transmission among people with no travel history and, most notably, within men who have sex with men”.
In Britain and Europe, the mpox vaccine – which is a variation of the smallpox jabs given routinely to children until the 1970s – is now offered to gay and bisexual men, healthcare workers in high-risk environments like sexual health clinics, and people who have had close contact with people who are already infected.
The jab, which is given in two doses, offers around 80 per cent protection and means those who do catch the virus will experience a milder illness.
Clade 1b is thought to cause more severe disease than other types of mpox, with symptoms including a lumpy rash of pus-filled lesions, fever, aches and, in some cases, death. It has also been linked to dangerous complications for pregnant women including miscarriage.
After 16 cases of Clade 1b mpox were reported in England, British health officials issued a warning and urged vaccination.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is aware of small numbers of locally acquired cases of an mpox strain called ‘clade Ib’ in the USA, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal, which have no connection to countries with known transmission.
The health agency said this suggests there is now community transmission of the disease globally.
Most of the new cases identified in Europe and the USA have been in the gay, bisexual and men who have sex with men community – a population in which it said transmission of that strain has not previously been observed.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., a 10-case outbreak has been reported in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Mecklenburg County Health Department says Mpox cases are on the rise.
Officials say it’s due to a new strain of the virus. Ten cases have been reported in the Charlotte area since October.
Mpox is primarily spread through close contact with an infected person. Symptoms include fever, aches, lesions, and rash.
At present, there is no public information on the specific strain of the Charlotte mpox virus.
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
Say it with me, friends; MONKEYPOX
There’s an important question missed: among what sorts of people?
I’m going to guess these new cases were not randomly distributed through the population. You shouldn’t need a vaccine if you don’t do the things that will help you catch monkeypox. (Kind of like hepatitis-c vaccines for small children.)
Don’t **** the monkey, you don’t get monkeypox.
Peter Gabriel has entered the chat.
This is a disease that spreads through people who cannot say ‘no’ to a sex partner covered in open sores.
Because that’s how it spreads–by friction on those open sores.
Why is it being treated like it’s the next covid?
Why is it being treated like it’s the next covid?
More like it’s the next HIV.
And there’s two reasons. One is that, in a Safetyist society, the perfect is the enemy of the pretty good. There must be no disease or affliction anywhere, ever. And everyone must be protected from everything.
The second is that there should be, in the Progressive mind, no consequences for behavior that equates to doing what you want to do (called hedonism). So, they make it EVERYONE’s problem. It’s what they (Fauci, actually) did with HIV – beat the drum that it was a danger to everyone so they could avoid having to change their behavior.
A promiscuous homosexual sex partner engaging in unprotected anal sex and/or drug addict using unclean needles. If you don’t fall into one of those categories you are in little danger of contracting the disease.
Must be the WHO is feeling the pinch of Trump shutting off the money and needs a new global hysteria to gin up support.
Even among the high-risk population that I guarantee are 100% of the cases, that is infinitesimal – less than a rounding error.
Again, a “certain” population….enough said.
They are trying real hard for the next covid; have to derail Trump at all costs.
The WHO is always trying hard to get the next pandemic going so they can beg for more money. Notice how many of these things seem to originate in Africa.
Gee, it’s almost as if nature is trying to tell certain individuals “don’t do ‘that thing’ that way…”
Turns out Mother Nature/Gaia is homophobic and transphobic. How will liberals cope?
I know I’m out of the current mainstream, but I was confused about some terminology in this story. What is the distinction between gay and “men who have sex with men”?
I’m not sure I really want to know.
I suppose some in the latter are unhappy about it?
Work or play?
I was watching a podcast where a woman (maybe, I dunno anymore) said if she saw two men having sex it would be homosexual. But if during it one of them yelled out that he was a woman, it immediately turned into heterosexual sex. Maybe something along those lines?
We talked about it last time this came up (they used the same phrase). It’s some bizarre way of acknowledging the trans and making some perverse distinction between men “in the lifestyle” and those who don’t do all that freaky stuff (just the one freaky thing).
Correct me if I’m wrong, someone.
“Prison Gay” is a thing at least in some areas. A man that engages in homosexual behavior but only when incarcerated.
Don’t let anyone touch your monkey and it will be safe.
I avoided monkeypox using this one weird trick…
All must get vaccinated. The only alternative is to stop receiving anal sex from strangers in gas station restrooms.
You sure take the fun out of road trips
I don’t want a repeat of AIDs. Complete hysteria among certain people for a very preventable disease, billions of dollars spent, and derailment of medical research priorities. Not again please.
Oh, look. The disease of the year demanding more money from America has arrived. The fact that only unprotected gay sex with multiple partners spreads it is immeteriral.
.
And THAT, my friends, is how you catch monkeypox.