DResearchers from the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp and the National Institute of Biomedical Research in Kinshasa have discovered a mutation in the monkeypox virus (Mpox), according to a pre-publication study that has not yet been published. subject to peer review. This strain of the virus was discovered during an outbreak in Kamituga, a mining town in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
According to the Institute of Tropical Medicine, this strain seems mainly transmissible through sexual contact and could spread to neighboring countries via sex workers and minors. The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for measures to be taken to combat the spread of the virus, especially since it cannot be detected by certain PCR tests.
In 2022, a variant of the monkeypox virus caused an epidemic which spread to several countries around the world, particularly in Belgium. Contaminations had, however, declined significantly in Europe after several months, but the virus continued to rage in Africa. This is how in October 2023, an epidemic broke out in the Congolese town of Kamituga. The new variant at its origin spread quickly, especially among young adults and sex workers.
“Need a new strategy”
“We urgently need a new strategy by which monkeypox would be integrated into programs to prevent AIDS and sexually transmitted infections,” said Professor Placide Mbala-Kingebeni of the INRB, one of the authors of the study, cited in a press release. “It is important that we focus on target groups and avoid stigmatization at all costs. »
The Institute of Tropical Medicine is closely analyzing the epidemic situation and is looking with its Congolese partners to see if a vaccination campaign can stem this more aggressive variant. Without strengthening contact tracing and without resorting to vaccines, the epidemic could in fact spread, the Institute further warns.
