The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning Americans about a deadlier form of mpox that’s spreading rapidly through the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), saying it “poses a global threat.” MPox cases in the U.S. have declined since their peak in August 2022, but health officials are urging caution. So far, no cases of this deadlier strain have been detected in the U.S., but the CDC is ramping up surveillance for mpox and advising people at high risk of infection to get vaccinated and take precautions.
The deadlier of two forms of the mpox virus — known as clade I — has driven cases in the DRC to a record high. Nearly 20,000 suspected mpox cases were diagnosed there between January 1, 2023, and April 14, 2024, according to a recent CDC report. Almost 1,000 people died of the infection and more than two-thirds of those were children.
For now, the deadlier clade is chiefly affecting countries in Central Africa, including the DRC and Cameroon. None of the 343 samples taken from people with mpox in the U.S. that the CDC tested between December 1, 2023, and April 14, 2024, belonged to clade I.
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