Cases of the new strain of monkeypox: Why is the death rate among teenagers soaring
Two days after the World Health Organization declared a highest level alert "Public Health Emergency of International Concern" (PHEIC), Sweden announced on June 16 that it had confirmed the first case of the new strain of monkeypox outside Africa.
Since the beginning of the year, a new wave of monkeypox outbreaks has occurred on the African continent, with the Democratic Republic of Congo reporting 15,600 cases and 537 deaths, surpassing last year's figures. What is noteworthy is that, unlike the first wave of the outbreak two years ago, the group most affected this time is women and children under 15. Children account for more than 70% of the cases and 85% of the deaths, with the mortality rate among children being four times that of adults. In May, scientists discovered a new strain of monkeypox called the Ib type branch in the eastern part of the country, preliminary studies suggest that the new strain may be more easily transmitted through close daily contacts, and most of the infected are 15-year-old and younger children. For this new trend, WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic revealed that the children under 15 years old who are affected by the monkeypox outbreak in Congo are the most affected, which may be the result of multiple factors working together, including the fact that they have not been vaccinated against smallpox (monkeypox and smallpox belong to the same genus of viruses) and that vaccination against smallpox provides some protection against monkeypox; they have not come into contact with the virus before; they have close contact with potentially infected family members in crowded environments.
"Moreover, children's immune systems are not fully developed. While these factors make them susceptible, more research is needed to fully understand why children in Congo are being disproportionately affected," Jasarevic said, adding that WHO has developed a plan to better understand the spread of the disease in families and communities.
On August 14, WHO announced that it was issuing the highest level of alert, "global health emergency of international concern" (PHEIC), due to the escalating monkeypox outbreaks in several African countries, and warned that a new wave of the disease could eventually cross borders and spread globally again. On June 16, Sweden announced the first case of a new strain of monkeypox outside of Africa, which had previously traveled to Africa, while other European health authorities warned of more imported cases.
This is the second time in over two years that the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a "global health emergency" alert for monkeypox. The previous outbreak, from July 2022 to May 2023, affected nearly 100,000 people in 116 countries, mainly among men who have sex with men.
