WHAT IS MPOX?
The disease, formerly known as monkeypox, was first detected in humans in the DRC in 1970.
There are two subtypes of the virus: clade 1 and clade 2.
The deadlier clade 1 has been endemic in the Congo Basin in central Africa for decades.
The less severe clade 2 has become endemic in parts of West Africa.
Mpox can spread human-to-human through sexual or close physical contact. Symptoms include fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions.
The virus gained international prominence in May 2022, when a less deadly strain called clade 2b spread around the world, mostly affecting gay and bisexual men.
Between January 2022 and June 2024, 208 deaths and more than 99,000 mpox cases were recorded across 116 countries, according to the WHO.
Source: CNA
