Skip to content
August 6, 2025
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • tiktok
MILLENNIUM NEWS 24/7

MILLENNIUM NEWS 24/7

Bridging The Community’s World Wide

  • Home
  • IP TV LIVE
  • PODCAST
  • U.S.News
  • LOCAL ELECTION
  • State News
    • Alabama
    • Alaska
    • Arizona
    • Arkansas
    • California
    • Colorado
    • Connecticut
    • Delaware
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Hawaii
    • Idaho
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Kentucky
    • Louisiana
    • Maryland
    • Massachusetts
    • Michigan
    • Maine
    • Minnesota
    • Mississippi
    • Missouri
    • Montana
    • Nebraska
    • Nevada
    • New Hampshire
    • New Jersey
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • North Carolina
    • North Dakota
    • Oregon
    • Pennsylvania
    • Rhode Island
    • South Carolina
    • South Dakota
    • Tennessee
    • Texas
    • Virginia
    • Washington
    • West Virginia
    • U.S. Virgin Islands
  • Politics
  • World News
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Weather
  • Business
  • Health News
  • ADVERTISEMENT
  • About Us
  • Contact us
Live TV

A new form of mpox that may spread more easily found in Congo’s biggest outbreak

KINSHASA, Congo  — Congo is struggling to contain its biggest mpox outbreak, and scientists say a new form of the disease detected in a mining town might more easily spread among people.

Since January, Congo has reported more than 4,500 suspected mpox cases and nearly 300 deaths, numbers that have roughly tripled from the same period last year, according to the World Health Organization. Congo recently declared the outbreak across the country a health emergency.

An analysis of patients hospitalized between October and January in Kamituga, eastern Congo, suggests recent genetic mutations in mpox are the result of its continued transmission in humans; it’s happening in a town where people have little contact with the wild animals thought to naturally carry the disease.

“We’re in a new phase of mpox,” said Dr. Placide Mbala-Kingebeni, the lead researcher of the study, who said it will soon be submitted to a journal for publication. Mbala-Kingebeni heads a lab at Congo’s National Institute of Biomedical Research, which studies the genetics of diseases.

The lesions reported by most patients are milder and on the genitals, Mbala-Kingebeni said, making the disease trickier to diagnose. In previous outbreaks in Africa, lesions were mostly seen on the chest, hands and feet. He also said that the new form seems to have a lower death rate.

In a report on the global mpox situation this week, WHO said the new version of the disease might require a new testing strategy to pick up the mutations.

With experts pointing out that fewer than half of people in Congo with mpox are tested, Mbala-Kingebeni said: “The risk is that unless patients themselves come forward, we will have a silent transmission of the disease and nobody will know.”

Mbala-Kingebeni said most people were infected via sex, with about a third of mpox cases found in sex workers. It was not until the 2022 global emergency of mpox that scientists established the disease was spread via sex, with most cases in gay or bisexual men. In November, WHO confirmed sexual transmission of mpox in Congo for the first time.

There are two kinds, or clades, of mpox, which is related to smallpox and endemic to central and west Africa. Clade 1 is more severe and can kill up to 10% of people infected. Clade 2 triggered the 2022 outbreak; more than 99% of people infected survived.

Mbala-Kingebeni and colleagues said they have identified a new form of clade 1 that may be responsible for more than 240 cases and at least three deaths in Kamituga, a region with a significant transient population traveling elsewhere in Africa and beyond.

Dr. Boghuma Titanji, an infectious diseases expert at Emory University who is not connected to the research, said the new mutations are concerning.

“This suggests the virus is adapting to spread efficiently in humans and could cause some pretty consequential outbreaks,” she said.

Although the mpox epidemics in the West were contained with the help of vaccines and treatments, barely any have been available in Congo. Congo’s minister of health has authorized the use of vaccines in high-risk provinces, said Cris Kacita Osako, coordinator of Congo’s Monkeypox Response Committee. He said officials are in talks with donor countries like Japan to help buy the shots.

“Once a sufficient quantity of vaccines is available … vaccination will be implemented as part of the response,” Kacita Osako said.

Dr. Dimie Ogoina, an mpox expert at Niger Delta University, said the new research is an unsettling reminder of an earlier — but different — outbreak.

“The notable spread among sex workers is reminiscent of the early stages of HIV,” he said, explaining that prejudices attached to treating sexually transmitted infections and the reluctance of people with mpox to come forward were worrying.

WHO’s emergencies chief, Dr. Michael Ryan, said last week that despite the ongoing spread of mpox in Africa and elsewhere, “there has not been a single donor dollar invested.”

About Author

Habib Habib

See author's posts

Continue Reading

Previous: Kentucky AG among leaders in protecting equal opportunities for women in sports
Next: Federal Reserve says interest rates will stay at two-decade high until inflation further cools

Related Stories

US health officials advise using antibiotic as a ‘morning-after pill’ against STDs

US health officials advise using antibiotic as a ‘morning-after pill’ against STDs

The art of drag has become a target. With Pride Month nigh, performers are organizing to fight back

The art of drag has become a target. With Pride Month nigh, performers are organizing to fight back

A synthetic drug ravages youth in Sierra Leone. There’s little help, and some people are chained

A synthetic drug ravages youth in Sierra Leone. There’s little help, and some people are chained

Entertainment

Lady Gaga leads 2025 MTV Video Music Awards nominations, followed by Bruno Mars and Kendrick Lamar 1

Lady Gaga leads 2025 MTV Video Music Awards nominations, followed by Bruno Mars and Kendrick Lamar

Ozzy Osbourne died of a heart attack, report says, citing death certificate 2

Ozzy Osbourne died of a heart attack, report says, citing death certificate

Flaco Jimenez, Texas accordionist who expanded popularity of conjunto and Tejano music, dies at 86 3

Flaco Jimenez, Texas accordionist who expanded popularity of conjunto and Tejano music, dies at 86

Jeannie Seely, soulful country singer behind hits like ‘Don’t Touch Me,’ dies at 85 4

Jeannie Seely, soulful country singer behind hits like ‘Don’t Touch Me,’ dies at 85

Justin Timberlake says he’s been diagnosed with Lyme disease 5

Justin Timberlake says he’s been diagnosed with Lyme disease

Martha’s Vineyard film fest returns with Black star power, bold storytelling and cultural legacy 6

Martha’s Vineyard film fest returns with Black star power, bold storytelling and cultural legacy

In ‘Sinners’ and his music, Buddy Guy is keeping the blues alive. It hasn’t been easy 7

In ‘Sinners’ and his music, Buddy Guy is keeping the blues alive. It hasn’t been easy

Top News

Lady Gaga leads 2025 MTV Video Music Awards nominations, followed by Bruno Mars and Kendrick Lamar

Lady Gaga leads 2025 MTV Video Music Awards nominations, followed by Bruno Mars and Kendrick Lamar

Ozzy Osbourne died of a heart attack, report says, citing death certificate

Ozzy Osbourne died of a heart attack, report says, citing death certificate

Federal judge rules Trump administration cannot reallocate billions meant for disaster mitigation

Federal judge rules Trump administration cannot reallocate billions meant for disaster mitigation

RFK Jr. pulls $500 million in funding for vaccine development

RFK Jr. pulls $500 million in funding for vaccine development

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • tiktok
Editor: Nur M Tofader, Home Office: 250 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10177 Tell: 718 893 0002 (Office), 7188441300, +1212 401 6266, e-mail: Info@millenniuamtv24.com, e-mail: Info@millenniuamnews24.com, Copyright © Millennium News 24/7 | DarkNews by AF themes.