Mpox Clade 1 Causing Deaths in Africa

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is having its largest surge of mpox cases ever recorded, says the U.S. CDC. Since January 2023, the DRC has reported more than 20,000 suspected mpox cases, and about 1,000 deaths have been reported. 

To notify international travelers of their potential mpox risk, the CDC reissued a Travel Health Advisory on June 10, 2024.

Mpox is a disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus. It is divided into two Clades. Clade IIb is responsible for the global outbreak that began in May 2022, while Clade 1 is causing the Mpox outbreak in the DRC.

There have been no cases of the type of mpox spreading in DRC reported in the United States, says the CDC. The risk to the general public in the U.S. from this type of mpox is very low.

In 2023, the CDC published a Health Advisory stating that mpox Vaccines are expected to be effective for both Clade I and Clade II infections. However, as the European CDC recently reported, real-world data regarding the effectiveness of the JYNNEOS vaccine against Clade 1 is lacking.