Public health officials are concerned about a new strain of mpox (formerly called “monkeypox”) that could be spreading more easily between humans. The infectious viral disease, which is related to smallpox, causes a distinct rash of lesions and bumps and can sometimes be fatal.
In late June, health authorities first rang alarm bells over a strain of mpox spreading through the Democratic Republic of Congo. Specifically, the new strain has been circulating in the North and South Kivu provinces of Congo. Scientists believe it mutated from the lineage called clade II that impacted the U.S. and other Western countries between 2022 and 2023. "There is a critical need to address the recent surge in mpox cases in Africa," Rosamund Lewis, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) technical lead for mpox said in a media briefing.
