The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an alert for doctors to keep a watch on the signs and symptoms of a severe strain of mpox (monkeypox)that is spreading in Africa. This comes after the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu said in a tweet that he would be convening a group of advisers to determine whether the mpox outbreak should be declared a public health emergency of international concern.

Tedros added that the committee will meet as soon as possible. There has been a significant rise in the number of cases of mpox in central and eastern Africa. The CDC in its alert said that the cases of the strain, called clade 1 hasn’t been reported outside of central and eastern Africa, however, due to the risk of additional spread, the agency is recommending clinicians in the U.S. consider mpox in patients who have recently been in the Democratic Republic of Congo or to any neighbouring country (Angola, Burundi, Central Africa Republic, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda or Zambia) and have symptoms of mpox, according to a report in NBC News.

The mpox strain that has been spreading in Africa is different from the one that circulated globally in 2022. The strain that is spreading now is known as Clade I, which has a high fatality rate. CDC divides mpox virus into two categories, “Clade I and Clade II. The Clade I type of mpox virus has a fatality rate around 10%. Infections in the 2022–2023 outbreak are from Clade II, or more specifically, Clade IIb. Infections with Clade IIb are rarely fatal.”

Mpox, also known as monkeypox is a viral disease that’s caused by the monkeypox virus. It is a zoonotic disease and hence it can spread from animal to humans. It was first discovered in monkeys and hence, the name monkeypox.

Mpox usually causes painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes and fever. While most people recover from the condition, however, some people might get very sick. The virus spreads from person to person through touch, kissing or sex. However, from animals, it usually spreads when hunting, skinning, or cooking them. It can also spread from contaminated sheets, clothes or needles and from infected pregnant mothers to their unborn babies.

The signs of infection tend to begin within a week but can start 1–21 days after exposure and they tend to last for 2-4 weeks but may last longer in someone with a weakened immune system. Here, take a look at some of the common symptoms of mpox, according to WHO.

For some people, the first symptom of mpox is a rash, while others may have different symptoms first. The rash begins as a flat sore which develops into a blister filled with liquid and may be itchy or painful. As the rash heals, the lesions dry up, crust over and fall off.

Some people may have one or a few skin lesions and others have hundreds or more. These can appear anywhere on the body such as:

Some people also have painful swelling of their rectum or pain and difficulty when peeing. Children, pregnant people and people with weak immune systems are at risk for complications from mpox.

WHO says people with mpox can become very sick. For example, the skin can become infected with bacteria leading to abscesses or serious skin damage. Other complications include pneumonia, corneal infection with loss of vision; pain or difficulty swallowing, vomiting and diarrhoea causing severe dehydration or malnutrition; sepsis (infection of the blood with a widespread inflammatory response in the body), inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), heart (myocarditis), rectum (proctitis), genital organs (balanitis) or urinary passages (urethritis) or death.

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