U.S. prepares for possible arrival of more severe strain of mpox

Several senior Biden administration officials said on Friday that the United States is gearing up for the possibility of the emergence of a more lethal strain of mpox that has begun in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other nations across Africa, leading to over 600 individuals dying. 
 
According to the WHO, as of Thursday, there has been over 24,800 reported cases this year of this version of the virus, known as clade 1, WHO said in a separate briefing on Friday. Since this year the WHO has declared the outbreak as a global health emergency in August. 
 
This was for clade 1 which was first detected in Sweden last month in a person who had recently visited Egypt – the first incidence detected outside Africa, and then several days ago in a patient in Thailand. The two patients had history of some stay in Africa. 
 
Clade 2 caused another outbreak globally in 2022 and a spike in cases in the US A different strain of mpox is more deadly and it can kill as much as 10 percent of affected people; current mortality is considered to be from 1 to 3 percent. 3%, said the CDC. 
 
In a teleconference with reporters senior administration officials explained that in the process of the increase of the infections in Africa, the United States has been preparing for its cases. 
 
‘For many months we have been anticipating the emergence of clade 1 in the USA, especially as the epidemic in DRC and neighboring countries intensified,’ an official noted. 
 
The government is increasing its surveillance of mpox, especially through wastewater testing, and is contacting the medical professionals to make them aware of what to look for, including the nature of clade 1 and how it is transmitted, sources have said. 
 
They also said they are trying to ensure that testing is more easily accessible than it has been in the past. 
 
In the U. S, any doctor can order an mpox test that can be sent to a national lab. If positive it can be tested for clade 2. If those results come back negative for clade 2, the doctor could assume the presence of clade 1; though any presumptive diagnostic must be officially confirmed by the CDC, sources say. 
 
The Jynneos mpox vaccine which is administered in two doses is protective against both clade 1 and clade2 mpox. 
 
This leaves the CDC’s vaccine recommendation to only those people who are believed to be at high risk to catch this disease, the gay and bisexual men. 
 
Both officials also noted that most people with health insurance are now able to access the vaccine at larger pharmacy retail chains such as CVS and Walgreens. The vaccine is also provided for free at public health departments and community health center. 
 
Officials said the country currently has larger quantities of vaccines stored in the U. S. national stockpile, though they did not disclose the number. 
 
Thus, an official was quoted saying that “there’s more than enough vaccine to inoculate the entire population of the United States”. 
 
The U. S. is also collaborating with government scientists plus drug companies in coming up with potential new treatments as well. As of the writing of this paper, there are no pharmacological interventions that have been registered for use in the treatment of mpox. The Food and Drug Administration has cleared another antiviral treatment called TPOXX for smallpox that is related to mpox though a recent clinical trial showed the medicine does not work for clade