A new form of smallpox has emerged in Congo, causing the death of nearly 300 people since the beginning of the year, The Independent reports. According to scientists, the new form of smallpox, discovered in a mining town, may spread more easily among people. Since January, over 4,500 suspected cases of the disease have been registered in Congo.
Local authorities have declared a public health emergency nationwide due to the outbreak. Analysis of patients hospitalized from October to January in the city of Kamituga in eastern Congo indicates that recent genetic mutations of the smallpox virus are the result of its continuous transmission to humans; this is happening in a city where people have little contact with wild animals, which are believed to be natural carriers of this disease, the article states.
Lead study author Placide Mbala-Kingebeni stated that “we are at a new stage in the development of smallpox.” According to him, the results of this study will soon be published in a journal.
During previous outbreaks of the disease in Africa, lesions were usually observed on the chest, arms, and legs. He added that the new form likely has a lower mortality rate.
Despite the fact that smallpox epidemics in the West were curbed thanks to vaccines and treatment, little was available in Congo. Officials are currently in talks with donor countries such as Japan to procure vaccines.
