US REPORTS FIRST CASE OF EMERGING MPOX STRAIN IN CALIFORNIA

Sun 17 November 2024:

California has reported the first US case of mpox – formerly known as monkeypox – that is part of a new outbreak.

The state’s department of health, the CDPH, said the new case was from the Clade I strain – different from the Clade II strain that has been in circulation in the US since 2022.

California has reported the first US case of mpox – formerly known as monkeypox – that is part of a new outbreak.

The state’s department of health, the CDPH, said the new case was from the Clade I strain – different from the Clade II strain that has been in circulation in the US since 2022.

The public risk remains low as the person was treated at a local medical facility shortly after returning to the US, the CDC said, adding that health officials are working to identify anyone who may have been exposed to the person.

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This is the first confirmed case in the US of the virus’s clade 1b strain.

The clade 1b variant is considered more transmissible than previous mpox strains, according to the World Health Organization.

Mpox is a viral disease, formerly called monkeypox before the WHO changed its name in 2022 over complaints that it was racist and stigmatizing.

Mpox is caused by a virus in the same family as smallpox but is usually much less harmful.

It was originally transmitted from animals to humans but now also passes between humans.

Initial symptoms include fever, headaches, swellings, back pain and aching muscles. A rash can then develop, which can be extremely itchy or painful.

The infection can clear up on its own and lasts between 14 and 21 days, but in some cases has been fatal, particularly for vulnerable groups including small children.

Mpox is most common in remote villages in the tropical rainforests of West and Central Africa, in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), where it has been seen for many years.

Hundreds of people died during an initial outbreak in DR Congo earlier this year, and the disease has since spread to areas of Central and East Africa.

Outbreaks can be controlled by preventing infections with vaccines, though these are usually only available for people at risk or those who have been in close contact with an infected person.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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