Evidence from past outbreaks indicates that this strain, called clade I, is more lethal than the separate strain that sparked the 2022 outbreak. Clade I has for decades caused small outbreaks, often limited to a few households or communities, in Central Africa. Sexually acquired clade I infections had not been reported before last year.
“This is the first definitive proof of sexual transmission of monkeypox in Africa,” Oyewale Tomori, a Nigerian virologist who sits on several WHO advisory groups, said. “The idea that this kind of transmission could not be happening here has now been debunked.”
Cases and death continued to decline globally over the past 4 weeks, with hot spots reported in a few countries as XBB Omicron variant proportions continue to shift, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today in its latest weekly update.
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Activity is up, however, in two regions: the Western Pacific by 10% and Africa by 3%. Deaths declined or were stable in all six regions.
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