A milder strain of mpox sparked an international health emergency in 2022, when it spread to more than 100 countries, mainly between men who have sex with men.
Given that the virus is strongly linked to gay sex, it’s possible cases are going unreported in the UAE, where homosexuality is illegal, due to stigma, Dr Krutika Kuppalli, a spokesperson for the Infectious Disease Society of America and former WHO medical officer, noted on X (formerly Twitter).
The clade 1b variant was first identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo last year, and has now been spotted in 14 countries in the region, with more than 26,500 infections and 724 deaths recorded since January.
The virus’s rapid spread prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) last month declared a global health crisis – its highest health alert – and the step taken in February 2020 before Covid-19 escalated into a global pandemic.
India had reported about 30 cases and one death from the older strain, known as clade 2, between 2022 and March this year, and one more clade 2 case earlier this month.
Mpox transmits through close physical contact, including sexual contact, but unlike previous global pandemics such as Covid-19 there is no evidence it spreads easily through the air.
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