A SEVERE strain of mpox that kills one in 10 of those it infects is spreading, health officials have announced.
Experts fear the new, more lethal variant could gain ground worldwide like it did last summer.
Symptoms associated with monkeypox
Nearly 600 have died of suspected mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), many of those children.
A further 11,988 have been infected in what has become the nation’s largest-ever outbreak.
The death toll has already overtaken the 112 global fatalities recorded during last summer’s epidemic when the disease was spotted in the UK for the first time.
“The risk of mpox further spreading to neighbouring countries and worldwide appears to be significant,” the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.
Doctors in the US are being told to look out for the deadly disease after the events in Congo.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued the alert and urged tourists heading to the DRC to be on alert for rashes and avoid close contact with unwell people.
Dr Meera Chand, of the UK Health Security Agency, told the Sun the government body was “aware of reports” of a new cluster of mpox cases linked to sexual transmission in the DRC.
“As we have done throughout the mpox outbreak, we will keep a close eye on this and other international developments alongside working with our international partners.”
“The virus variant is known to be more virulent,” Rosamund Lewis, WHO’s mpox lead, told Reuters.
“If it adapts better to human-to-human transmission, that presents a risk.”
Mpox, formally known as monkeypox, is a viral infection that spreads through close contact, causing flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions.
It is a member of the same family of viruses as smallpox, although it is much less severe.
The most common symptom is a skin rash or lesions.
According to the NHS, these lesions go through four stages, from flat spots to raised spots, to blisters to scabs.
Most cases are mild, but it can kill.
Complications can include severe bacterial infection from skin lesions, mpox affecting the brain (encephalitis), heart (myocarditis) or lungs (pneumonia), and eye problems.
Cases of the virus were reported in multiple countries starting in May 2022, including the UK.
The majority affected gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men.
Mpox symptoms that have nothing to do with spots
Signs of mpox don’t stop at spots.
People are also likely to experience flu-like symptoms, which will begin between five and 21 days after infection.
The symptoms often get better by themselves over two to four weeks.
The NHS says these include:
Inflammation of the rectum (proctitis) – for example, pain or bleeding from your back passage
High temperature (fever)
Headache
Flu-like symptoms, including muscle and back aches, shivering and tiredness
Swollen glands that feel like new lumps (in the neck, armpits or groin)
If you have some of these symptoms and believe you could have monkeypox, you should stay at home, avoid close contact with others and get medical help by phone until you’re assessed.