Africa mpox outbreak will raise wider concerns

Significance

Large case numbers, and a new variant with a high case-fatality rate (CFR), have been reported in the region since January. This is the second new clustering (‘clade’) of variants detected in less than ten years, with mpox evolving from a once-uncommon, mostly animal-to-human-transmitted infection with a low CFR to a rapidly spreading, high-impact, human pathogen.

Impacts

• International travel, tourism and relations with mpox-endemic countries may be affected.
• Without investment in poxvirus research, other disease-causing poxviruses in humans could emerge.
• Over the long term, poxvirus vaccines will likely be reintroduced into childhood vaccination schedules.