U.S. Mpox Red Alert: Biden-Harris Administration Admit They Are 'Closely Monitoring' Deadly Disease As It Spreads Outside Africa
The Biden-Harris administration is closely monitoring the spread of clade I mpox to prepare for potential outbreak.
Aug. 23 2024, Published 5:00 p.m. ET
The Biden-Harris Administration admitted they're closely monitoring increasing cases of the highly infectious mpox disease.
In the wake of the pandemic, there are growing concerns about the rapid spread of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, outside of Africa.
Following the surge of cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the U.S. federal government established an "incident response structure" across agencies as a proactive measure for "domestic preparedness", RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The WHO reinstated the status of clade I mpox as a Public Health Emergency of International concern.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reinstated the status of clade I mpox as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on August 21 as the virus spread outside of the DRC.
Sweden announced its first recorded case of clade I mpox on August 22.
Dr. Pamela Rendi-Wagner, director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, announced the agency raised the mpox risk level from "very low" to "low", while highlighting the increasing need for preparedness.
Rendi-Wagner said: "Due to the close links between Europe and Africa we must be prepared for more imported clade I cases."
Though the CDC confirmed there were no reported cases of clade I mpox in the U.S., officials warned monitoring the spread of cases from Africa should be taken seriously.
Sweden recorded its first clade I mpox case this week.
UCLA epidemiologist Anne Rimoin said: "I think we have to be very, very cautious about saying that this is more dangerous."
"The data on the severity, associated mortality — all of that is scant. There are a lot of questions about whether or not the perceived severity might have more to do with the population that it’s spreading in, their immune system, the route of transmission, the infectious dose."
The mpox variant is believed to be more severe than clade II, which broke out in 2022.
Because clade I is considered to be a more serious and transmissible variant of clade II mpox, which drove the global outbreak in 2022. Therefore immunocompromised individuals, particularly those with advanced, untreated HIV are said to be at a greater risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death, according to NBC News.
Since 2022, the U.S. has continued to witness a low spread of clad II cases.
Harvard Medical School virologist Dr. Dan Barouch further warned that the U.S. would likely see reported cases of clade I mpox.
Barouch said: "The absolute risk in the U.S. is currently low. Although we need to remain vigilant."
CDC officials first warned of potential clade I cases in December. The agency updated their advisory on August 7.
Though the clade I risk in the U.S. is said to be low, experts warn the country needs to be 'vigilant'.
A recent study revealed promising results from the TPOXX antiviral in a DRC clinical trial. Though the vaccine did not reduce clade I symptoms, only 1.7 percent of patients died compared to the typical DRC death rate of 3.6 percent or higher.
Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, epidemiologist and lead for the CDC mpox clade I response, believed the study showed promise for patients receiving higher quality health care in the U.S. Nevertheless, the agency remains vigilant about early detection and monitoring the spread of cases globally.
McQuiston added: "We are more worried about clade I than we are about clade II."
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