Deadlier strain of mpox spreads to multiple African countries Massive outbreak of virus in Democratic Republic of Congo spills into neighbors

https://www.science.org/content/article/deadlier-strain-mpox-spreads-more-african-countries?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8Crc_H8CbAuQKPYO-xDSvbPoPgUA7oyQd3JhxfnuUdIFqxxkTjG-HTB517JZ6F1f3XQfQ5sSCwZkFHl0IRrMq5ZSdV-A&_hsmi=318674733&utm_content=318674733&utm_source=hs_email WHO director on whether mpox is a public health emergency Last Monday, we learned that researchers are planning a clinical trial to test whether receiving an mpox vaccine can protect people who’ve been exposed to the infection from getting sick or reduce the severity of the illness. The stakes are high, as hundreds of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo have died from the disease this year. Now, sequencing of the virus shows that this deadly variant has also spread to Uganda and Kenya, according to reporting from ScienceInsider published Saturday. “I am considering convening an International Health Regulations Emergency Committee to advise me on whether the outbreak of mpox should be declared a public health emergency of international concern,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement to the outlet. This is the first time that the agency has made a statement about a potential PHEIC regarding this mpox outbreak, STAT’s Helen Branswell told me. Read STAT’s mpox coverage to get up to speed. https://www.statnews.com/2024/07/29/morning-rounds-bird-flu-vaccine/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-87QkSV4-UPPrUKHMFgIoUwNfPHYlVZs0YRXLqNflk8F_o16cQwt8ZL-ybIBt7MPL11uWASXddh3V0AZqsiOh_42UgYwQ&_hsmi=318674733&utm_content=318674733&utm_source=hs_email Mpox Our latest coverage of the unprecedented mpox outbreak spreading across multiple continents. https://www.statnews.com/topic/mpox/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-92wq7CZ1HCUOMx1mz94eP1inc9KG4vx-_y5ThZ6EVVvzhtxbiMEpo6lg9DHVN8Tv6HPgtPeoxlb08NOptZgRKnYgExl0qhGbjfELbsB_BP2FboXRc&_hsmi=317667934&utm_content=317667934&utm_source=hs_email