Mpox Update -- Per CIDRAP, Two More African Nations Have Seen Clade 1b Outbreaks... Tough News.

I think that makes 20 African nations, now dealing with the Clade 1b outbreak -- over 52,000 people are viral hosts, and more than 36 are dead, on the continent. Tough news, to be certain.

And -- it is simply. . . gob-smacking that, in 2024. . . "we, the people" (those of us who can read and understand peer-reviewed scientific studies) might have to conduct a national public outreach campaign, to educate and. . . persuade the potentially-incoming US Health Secretary. . . that vaccines SAVE LIVES. Dammit. [I still hold some hope that the less rabid GOP Senators will grow spines, and tank his -- and Gaetz's, and Hegseth's -- nominations.] The idea that a loony anti-vax billionaire might potentially set vaccine policies -- for millions of school kids in America. . . literally sickens me.

In any event, here's the still-unfolding Mpox story, from CIDRAP:

. . .New genetic sequencing results have now confirmed novel clade 1b mpox virus in recent cases from Zambia and Zimbabwe, signifying that the virus is now spreading in most of Africa's regions, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said today.

During a weekly briefing, Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya, MD, MPH, said the African region is still averaging about 2,800 new cases a week, "sending a clear message that mpox is not under control in Africa."

Though the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been the main hot spot, cases in Uganda continue to rise sharply, with 184 cases reported over the past week. The country is battling the clade 1b strain, with cross-border transmission and sexual contact the main drivers of its outbreak.

An emerging concern is new clusters among sex workers. . . .

For the Love of Pete. . . please people, wake your GOP Senators up (if you are afflicted with 'em). This Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is a. . . loon. Damn.

नमस्ते