Germany has recorded its first new case mpox The variant, clade 1b, said the Robert Koch Institute for Public Health. According to a Reuters report, it said the risk to the wider population is low. The health ministry of the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia said the patient is a 33-year-old man who was isolated after being admitted to hospital for treatment on October 12.

More detailed testing results came out on October 18, showing that the patient had the clade 1b variant. This is the same variant that prompted the World Health Organization to declare mpox a global health emergency in August. The current outbreak of Mpox originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and has spread to neighboring countries.

The state ministry also said the patient in Germany is believed to have acquired the virus in the East African country. “The RKI currently considers the risk to the health of the general population in Germany to be low,” the Robert Koch Institute said. It said it was monitoring the situation closely and would adapt its assessment if necessary.

The first sign of the virus spreading outside the African continent came on August 15, when global health officials confirmed infection with a new strain of the mpox virus in Sweden.

What is MPOX?

Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral disease caused by the monkeypox virus. It is a zoonotic disease and was first found in monkeys. Hence it was named monkeypox. MPox usually causes a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, and fever. While most people recover from the condition, some may become very ill.

This virus spreads from one person to another through touch, kissing or sex. However, it is usually spread from animals while hunting, skinning, or cooking them. It can also be spread through contaminated bedsheets, clothing or needles and from infected pregnant mothers to their unborn babies.

types of mpox strains

There are two types of MPOX; Clade I and Clade II. Experts say the Clade I type of mpox virus has a mortality rate of about 10%. Infections in the 2022–2023 outbreak were from clade II, or more specifically, clade IIb. Infection with clade IIb is rarely fatal. More than 99% of people with this type of disease have a chance of survival.

However, clade I infection can be fatal. Clade I Mpox is causing frequent outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and several other African countries.

Its first case was reported in India in September mpox clade 1b Tension in Malappuram, Kerala. According to reports, the patient was a 38-year-old man who had recently arrived from the UAE.

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