More Mpox Mutations Further Raise Spread Risks, Africa CDC Says

Mpox strains are still mutating, further raising the risk of spread both in Africa and globally, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Director-General Jean Kaseya said.

(Bloomberg) — Mpox strains are still mutating, further raising the risk of spread both in Africa and globally, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Director-General Jean Kaseya said.

Recent analysis shows that clade Ia, which has circulated for decades in central and west Africa and is transmitted mainly through contact with animals, may have further mutated to enable it to spread more easily between people, he said.

“This is what is making us a little bit worried,” Kaseya said in a briefing Thursday. “We need to accept that we don’t know what will be next,” especially in areas where there is more than one version of the virus transmitting. 

More than 50,000 cases of the disease have been reported this year, with 2,532 in the last week. Deaths keep climbing too, with the vast majority in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The number of African nations with mpox outbreaks has risen to 19, from six countries in April.

Much of the focus this year has been on the subvariant clade Ib, which authorities only identified late last year. It appeared to spread more rapidly than clade Ia, both through sexual activity of all kinds and close physical contact. The disease has killed hundreds of children in eastern Congo. 

Health authorities have allocated almost 900,000 vaccines between nine countries across the region, with decisions of where to send them aimed at ensuring “that the limited doses are used effectively and fairly,” the Africa CDC said in a statement. This includes judging the readiness of each country’s vaccine plan as well as data showing the pace of the spread.

These shots came from Canada, the vaccine alliance Gavi, the European Union and the US.

Funding that the US and other pandemic partners have promised needs to be released soon to effectively reduce transmission, Kaseya said. Less than 20% has arrived “in bank accounts of partners and countries,” he said. 

With the US election outcome this week, Kaseya plans to engage the incoming government to accelerate the dispersion of the $500 million pledged. 

“We don’t want to be accused in Africa as delaying the response while our partners aren’t providing sufficient support,” he said.