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full screen The new mpox virus spreads via skin contact between people. Archive image. Photo: Cdc/AP/TT
A new and more deadly variant of the monkeypox virus mpox is spreading in Congo-Kinshasa. Scientists warn that the virus, which has been confirmed in 1,000 people, could quickly spread to neighboring countries.
– It is undoubtedly the most dangerous of all known strains of mpox to date, says Jean Claude Udahemuka of the University of Rwanda.
The mortality rate for the strain, clade 1b, is about five percent in adults and ten percent in children. It is not yet known if vaccines work against it.