The Newly Discovered Monkeypox Variant

Photo by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases on Unsplash

An outbreak of a new variant of monkeypox, otherwise known as mpox, was declared to be a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) by Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Aug. 14.

PHEIC is the highest alert the WHO can give to the public, intended to convince countries to help with funding when a disease spreads in a new way.                                                                                                                                               

So far, there have been about 18,000 cases and at least 600 deaths. The variant was discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and quickly spread to neighboring African countries. It has started to spread to other continents; Pakistan, Philippines, Sweden and Thailand have each reported one case.

"We have had events where monkeypox has transmitted to the Americas,” upper school science teacher Will Perry said. “But it is not concerning because people have been quarantined quickly, and Tallahassee is not at a major port of entry.”

In 2022, the WHO also declared an outbreak of mpox to be an emergency when it spread globally. Florida had many cases of it that year. However, this outbreak is causing more global alarm because the new variation of mpox is spreading faster compared to the previous years.

“This is a virus that is easily spread from person to person,” Director of Maclay Student Health Services Megan Snow said. “We need to be mindful of it and watch it closely.”

The virus spreads through close contact between humans. It causes painful fluid-filled bumps all over the skin and flu-like symptoms, such as fevers and aches.

“The symptoms can be dangerous and lead to death, but cases are usually mild,” Snow said. “People are more at risk if they are immunocompromised (have a weak immune system).”

To stop the spread of the new mpox variant, researchers are looking to vaccines. In the 2022 outbreak, tests showed that one dose of the JYNNEOS vaccine was 80% effective at preventing the disease in European male populations. A clinical trial will soon launch in the DRC to see if it is effective in preventing the spread of mpox across all demographics.

“The number one thing that countries should do for disease is spread awareness, let people understand what they should be looking out for, what they should avoid and how to protect themselves,” Perry said.