BERLIN, OCT 22 – An infection with a new mpox variant, clade 1b has been detected in Germany for the first time, the health authority of the Robert Koch Institute said today.
The infection occurred abroad and was detected last Friday, according to the institute, adding that it did not see an increased risk for Germany but
are closely monitoring the situation.
Mpox, a viral disease related to smallpox that causes fever, body aches, swollen lymph nodes and a rash that forms blisters, has two main types, clade 1 and clade 2.
As of May 2022, clade 2 has spread worldwide, mostly in Europe and the United States.
In July 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an international public health emergency, the highest level of warning against its spread.
Vaccination and awareness campaigns in many countries have helped curb the number of cases worldwide and the WHO lifted the emergency in May 2023 after reporting 140 deaths out of about 87,400 cases.
But this year, a new outbreak has broken out again in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
In addition to clade 1, which mainly affects children, a new strain appeared in the DRC, called clade 1b.
Clade 1b cases have also been recorded in neighboring Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda where none of the countries have previously detected mpox. The WHO declared another international emergency in August. – AFP
