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<keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India" source="keywords">India</keyword> has reported its first confirmed case of <keyword id="20134986" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Monkeypox" source="keywords">Monkeypox</keyword> (<keyword id="20965747" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mpox" source="keywords">Mpox</keyword>) caused by the highly transmissible <keyword id="22812233" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Clade-1B" source="keywords">Clade 1B</keyword> strain, marking a significant moment in the country’s ongoing battle against the <keyword id="20542503" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="viral-disease" source="keywords">viral disease</keyword>. According to sources in the <keyword id="19896140" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Health-Ministry" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Health Ministry" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Health Ministry">Health Ministry</keyword>, this case involves a patient from <keyword id="19896018" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kerala" source="keywords">Kerala</keyword> <keyword id="19895006" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="WHO" source="keywords">who</keyword> had recently returned from Dubai. The World Health Organization (WHO) had recently raised concerns about the spread of Mpox, classifying it as a disease of international concern, especially as new, more infectious strains emerge. While Mpox has appeared in India before, all prior cases were linked to the less deadly Clade II strain. <h2>A new, more <keyword id="22892041" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="transmissible-strain" source="keywords">transmissible strain</keyword></h2>The case in Kerala is the first in India involving Clade 1B, a variant known for its higher transmission rate and increased mortality compared to previous strains. A Health Ministry official confirmed that the patient is currently in stable condition and that rigorous contact tracing efforts are underway to prevent further spread. This response follows India’s earlier experience with Mpox, where over 30 cases were recorded between 2022 and 2024, predominantly from travellers returning from African nations where the disease remains endemic. <h2>Mpox symptoms and spread</h2>Mpox manifests through typical viral symptoms, including fever, headaches, and muscle pain, eventually leading to skin rashes or lesions. These rashes often emerge a few days after the fever and vary in appearance, sometimes resembling fluid-filled blisters that crust over and heal within a few weeks. However, while symptoms usually resolve without intervention, the disease can lead to serious complications and, in rare instances, death. Unlike COVID-19 or influenza, Mpox is not airborne. Its primary mode of transmission is through close physical contact, particularly skin-to-skin contact or exposure to contaminated materials, such as bedding or clothing. Sexual transmission is also a significant factor in the spread of the disease. Health experts stress the importance of maintaining strict hygiene practices and ensuring that caregivers use personal protective equipment when attending to infected individuals. <h2>Health Ministry's preparedness</h2>In light of this new development, the Indian government is taking preventive measures to contain the situation. Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra has issued directives to states and Union Territories, urging them to ensure isolation facilities are readily available for suspected or confirmed cases. These measures also include ramping up resources such as trained healthcare personnel and medical supplies. While there is no immediate risk of a widespread outbreak, authorities are adopting a cautious approach to avoid any potential escalation. Recent cases, such as one involving a resident of Hisar, Haryana, demonstrate the country’s ongoing efforts to monitor, isolate, and treat Mpox cases effectively. (With inputs from agencies)

More transmissible, higher fatality rate: India records first case of fast-spreading Mpox strain Clade 1B in Kerala man

Days ago, a 26-year-old, infected by the clade-2 variant of <keyword id="20134986" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="monkeypox" source="keywords">Monkeypox</keyword>, became India's first confirmed case of the viral infection that is currently wreaking major havoc in African nations. A month after the WHO (World Health Organization) declared Monkeypox clade-1 a global public health emergency, neighbor <keyword id="19899252" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pakistan" source="keywords">Pakistan</keyword> already has 5 confirmed cases. Three weeks ago, <keyword id="19913659" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="thailand" source="keywords">Thailand</keyword> had also confirmed the first case of Monkeypox's newer variant (clade 1b) in <keyword id="19915288" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="asia" source="keywords">Asia</keyword>, which is considered far more deadly than its previous counterpart. Common symptoms of this viral infection include rashes on face, hands, feet and mouth. <keyword id="20965747" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="mpox" source="keywords">Mpox</keyword> is generally characterised by pus-filled blisters, which generally last about 2-4 weeks. Other symptoms of this infection also include fever, headache, muscle aches and swollen lymph nodes. While it is not deadly, Mpox is highly infectious and spreads on close contact. Since July 2022, India has reported 30 cases of Monkeypox. But with the outbreak of infection now looming larger than ever, here's a concise guide on navigating through your insurance, in case you or your loved ones are afflicted by Monkeypox. Note that at present, there are no separate insurance add-ons or riders for Mpox, unlike Covid-19. But since it is a viral infection, coverage for Mpox hospitalization, diagnostic tests and treatment is already present in your standard health insurance policy. But remember that hospitalization, and even recovery expenses for infectious diseases such as Mpox can be enormous, especially in private hospitals and urban centers. That is why, not only should you have an adequate insurance cover, but you should also make sure you are comprehensively covered when it comes pre and post hospitalization expenses, ICU charges, room rent etc. Since Mpox demands complete isolation of the patient, it is important to ensure that there are no limits on the room you opt for, while being hospitalised. Mahesh Yelapure, Head of Health Underwriting &amp; Health Claims, Go Digit General Insurance also cautions that you should confirm with your respective insurers, if there are any recent changes in terms, conditions of insurance policies, when it comes to Mpox treatment. Additionally, you should also be aware of any deductibles, sub-limits, or co-payment options of your policy. Deductibles is minimum amount you will have to pay before your insurer starts footing the bill for a particular disease or illness, while sub-limits refer to the maximum amount your policy will offer as coverage for a particular condition. This varies, depending on the policy and insurer, so always undertake thorough research to get yourself the best deal. <h2>Insure your travels</h2>If you are planning to travel abroad, be sure to buy a travel insurance policy ahead of your trip. Your travel insurance policy will typically includes medical coverage, which can help cover the costs of hospitalization for conditions like Mpox and other diseases. Keep the policy document handy, and also add a nominee, in case any extraordinary situation arises. If you require medical treatment for Mpox and require stay in a hospital for more than 24 hours, your policy may provide financial assistance, especially in a foreign country, where the cost of medical treatment might be super high. However, Yelapure also advises to look out for government-issued travel advisories before planning any travel. "If the government issues a travel advisory prohibiting citizens to travel to certain countries where the number of confirmed cases of Mpox is high, and one anyway decides to travel despite the issued advisory, and one contracts the disease, the claim may get rejected by the insurer", he says. As of last month, cases of Mpox Clade 1b virus have been skyrocketing in 13 countries, which include <keyword id="67854" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Congo" source="Orion">Congo</keyword>, Burundi, Kenya, South Africa, Liberia, South Africa, Cameroon, <keyword id="20027571" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="uganda" source="keywords">Uganda</keyword>, <keyword id="20218680" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rwanda" source="keywords">Rwanda</keyword> and Nigeria. In Asia, apart from Pakistan and Thailand, Mpox cases have also been reported in Singapore, Philippines and Malaysia.

Mpox outbreak: Understand what your insurance covers for Mpox treatment

<ul><li>An Indian man without travel history is infected with the <keyword id="7616951" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="monkeypox" source="Orion">monkeypox</keyword> virus, in New Delhi.</li><li>Globally, more than 16,000 cases of the virus have been reported in the last seven months, across 68 countries.</li><li>The infection usually lasts between 6-13 days but can range between 5-21 days, as per WHO report.</li></ul><keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> reported its fourth case of Monkeypox on Sunday, July 25, after a 34-year-old man was tested positive in the Paschim Vihar area of New Delhi. Unlike three other cases, all of which are from Kerala, this person had no travel history. Among the patient’s contacts, another person is showing the symptoms of the virus but the report is not out yet. The contact person has been asked to isolate, while others are asked to keep themselves under scan. “We have identified nearly a dozen persons who had come in contact with the patient over the last few days. One of them has symptoms and he has been advised isolation and testing. The rest are going to be under surveillance for at least two to three weeks,” <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/indias-4th-monkeypox-case-in-delhi-patient-has-no-foreign-travel-history/articleshow/93096145.cms">said</a> an official from the state health department. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Monkeypox a public health emergency: WHO" comment="subhead" text="Monkeypox a public health emergency: WHO">Monkeypox a public health emergency: WHO</cmsannotation> Globally, more than 16,000 cases of the Monkeypox virus have been reported over the last seven months in around 68 countries, out of which five people succumbed to the virus. The <keyword id="43588" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="world-health-organization" source="Orion">World Health Organization</keyword> (WHO), on Saturday, declared Monkeypox a ‘public health emergency of international concern’. It also made a shocking revelation that the cases are mostly spreading among men engaged in sexual intercourse. The average number of people infected by a single infected person is between 1.4 and 1.8 in men who have sex with men, but less than 1 in other populations, according to WHO report. However, experts and doctors say that the infection is not an sexually transmitted disease (STD). “We have not generated evidence to say that it is only an STD, or spreads through the sexually transmitted disease modes of sexual contact only. It is not like HIV, we can’t categorize it explicitly as HIV only, but these men are in close contact with each other. There are other modes of spread, such as unsafe and unchecked blood transfusions also,” <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/monkeypox-in-india-precautions-prevention-1979506-2022-07-25">said</a> Dr Sanjay Rai, Professor, Community Medicine at AIIMS. The WHO also fears that in some countries there is likely to be substantial under-reporting of case numbers, the occasional reports of infections in children and pregnant women, concerns that the infections could become endemic in the human population. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The stages of symptoms" comment="subhead" text="The stages of symptoms">The stages of symptoms</cmsannotation> The infection usually lasts between 6-13 days but in some cases it ranges upto 5-21 days, as per WHO report. Symptoms in an infected person in the first five days could be fever, intense headache, lymphadenopathy (swelling of the lymph nodes), back pain, myalgia (muscle aches) and intense asthenia (lack of energy). Lymphadenopathy is a distinctive feature of monkeypox compared to other diseases that may initially appear similar (chickenpox, measles, smallpox). The skin eruption usually begins within one to three days of the appearance of fever. The rash tends to be more concentrated on the face and extremities rather than on the trunk. It affects the face, palms and soles of the feet. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Variants of Monkeypox" comment="subhead" text="Variants of Monkeypox"><keyword id="14550938" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="variants-of-Monkeypox" source="Orion">Variants of Monkeypox</keyword></cmsannotation> Currently, there are two strains of this virus circulating in the countries — Congo strain and the West African strain. The Congo variant is said to be more fatal than the other variant and has a mortality rate of 10%, <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news/monkey-pox-declared-global-health-emergency-symptoms-causes-prevention-and-everything-you-need-to-know/articleshow/93086992.cms">reportedly</a>. The West African strain has a mortality rate of just 1%. Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis – a virus transmitted to humans from animals – with symptoms similar to those seen in smallpox patients. However, it is clinically less severe. A person can be infected if bitten by an infected animal or comes into contact with an infected patient. Infections can also pass if meat of a diseased animal is consumed without proper cooking. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Fastest rate of spreading" comment="subhead" text="Fastest rate of spreading">Fastest rate of spreading</cmsannotation> Around 3,040 cases have been registered to WHO this year in the last six months across 47 countries. The infection is seen to be spreading at a rate which is much faster than the outbreak that happened 50 years ago in 1970. “Since then, the outbreak has continued to grow, and there are now more than 16 thousand reported cases from 75 countries and territories, and five deaths,” said <keyword id="4569535" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="dr-tedros-adhanom-ghebreyesus" source="Orion">Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus</keyword>, director-general of the WHO. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/india-has-the-highest-rate-of-women-taking-action-against-harassment-calls-and-messages/articleshow/93107553.cms">India has the highest rate of women taking action against harassment calls and messages</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/samples-from-telanganas-1st-suspected-monkeypox-case-sent-to-niv/articleshow/93106837.cms">Samples from Telangana's 1st suspected Monkeypox case sent to NIV</a>

Monkeypox outbreak in India: Here’s what we know so far about symptoms, prevention of the infection

Is it just us or does it feel like we are all starring in Stranger Things and living in ‘the Upside Down’? We sure are living in stranger times and dealing with unpredictable plot twists almost every other day. <div type="image" title="Stranger Things" msid="93786051" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Stranger Things&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> On August 24, 2022, India reported 10,649 <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/india-logs-in-8586-new-covid-infections-active-cases-decline/articleshow/93723223.cms">new </a>cases of the novel <keyword id="1754604" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus" source="Orion">coronavirus</keyword>. <div type="image" title="COVID-19 new case additions and deaths" msid="93786058" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;COVID-19 new case additions and deaths&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> While the once-novel disease keeps coming back in waves, it isn’t the only one that the country is battling today. New <keyword id="25927" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="diseases" source="Orion">diseases</keyword> such as <keyword id="7616951" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="monkeypox" source="Orion">monkeypox</keyword> and <keyword id="13885432" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tomato-Flu" source="Orion">tomato flu</keyword> are also plaguing the whole world. Tomato flu: Symptoms and precaution <div type="image" title="Over 82 children below the age of five years have been reportedly infected with Tomato flu" msid="93786076" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Over 82 children below the age of five years have been reportedly infected with Tomato flu&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> A new infection named Tomato flu has been reported from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, and Odisha. It is now determined to be a clinical variant of the hand-foot-mouth disease, caused by a group of enteroviruses or viruses transmitted through the intestine. Over 82 children below the age of five years have been reportedly infected with the disease. As per Lancet Respiratory Medicine, tomato flu could also ‘be a new variant of the viral hand, foot, and mouth disease, a common infectious disease targeting mostly children aged 1–5 years and immunocompromised adults.’ The infection results in tomato-shaped blisters on the body and causes skin irritation, dehydration, joint pain, diarrhoea, nausea, discolouration of hands, knees and buttocks, vomiting, and fatigue. While it is yet to be ascertained if it affects only children, the Union Health Ministry has issued a set of guidelines on how to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/tomato-flu-outbreak-in-keralatamilnadu-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-infection/articleshow/91496289.cms">protect </a>children from the infection and its treatment course. In children with these symptoms, the advisory said, ‘molecular and serological tests are done for diagnosis of dengue, chikungunya, zika virus, varicella-zoster virus, and herpes; once these viral infections are ruled out, a diagnosis of tomato flu is considered’. If you develop some of these symptoms, the first and foremost thing to do is consult a doctor immediately. The guidelines also state that if children develop symptoms, they should be isolated. Their belongings such as utensils, clothing and bedding must be regularly sanitised. Children should also stay hydrated, and the blisters caused by the infection must be cleaned with warm water. The infected person must avoid scratching the rashes or blisters. With the schools reopening, one must proceed with caution and not panic because the situation is not alarming yet. Monkeypox: Origin and symptoms <div type="image" title="Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease" msid="93786087" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> First discovered in 1958 in the colonies of monkeys kept for research, monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease. The first human case of monkeypox was reported from Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 1970. Monkeypox virus primarily occurs in Central and West Africa. In 2003, the first monkeypox outbreak outside of Africa was reported in the United States of America which was linked to contact with infected pet prairie dogs. These pets had been housed with Gambian pouched rats and dormice that had been imported into the country from Ghana. Monkeypox starts with an unexplained acute rash. Other symptoms include swollen lymph nodes, fever, headache, body aches and profound weakness. As of August 24, there were 9 active cases of monkeypox in India, with 4 in Delhi and 5 in Kerala. If infected, patients are advised to isolate to prevent further transmission, while the authorities have been advised to provide optimal clinical care, identify and manage contacts, protect frontline health workers, take effective control and preventive measures based on the identified routes of transmission. Swine flu <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/covid-19-monkeypox-tomato-fever-zika-virus-india-has-its-hands-full-with-these-outbreaks-and-more/slidelist/93296406.cms#slideid=93296723">Swine flu is not a new</a> outbreak, it had first appeared in 2015 and Rajasthan and Gujarat were among the worst-hit states. Around 218 people had <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/covid-19-monkeypox-tomato-fever-zika-virus-india-has-its-hands-full-with-these-outbreaks-and-more/slidelist/93296406.cms#slideid=93296723">succumbed </a>to the flu back in 2015. With the current weather, cases of swine flu or H1N1 flu and monsoon-related diseases are on the rise again in Maharashtra. In July, a total of 6 deaths were reported from Mumbai – 2 deaths// each// were caused by dengue and swine flu and 1 death each due to malaria and leptospirosis. During the same period, Mumbai reported 35 swine flu cases. Zika virus <div type="image" title="Zika virus" msid="93786113" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Zika virus &amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> In July, cases of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/covid-19-monkeypox-tomato-fever-zika-virus-india-has-its-hands-full-with-these-outbreaks-and-more/slidelist/93296406.cms#slideid=93296702">Zika virus were silently</a> spreading across Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Punjab and Delhi. Zika virus spreads mostly through the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes and causes fever, headache, joint pain, red eyes, muscle pain and rash. Experts recommend that the only way to curb the spread is to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/covid-19-monkeypox-tomato-fever-zika-virus-india-has-its-hands-full-with-these-outbreaks-and-more/slidelist/93296406.cms#slideid=93296702">control breeding of mosquitoes</a>, which commonly happens in stagnant water. As the world grapples with new variants of Covid-19, tomato flu and monkeypox, There are 200 more active viruses, and bacteria in the air, thanks to climate change, said a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/environment/news/there-are-200-more-active-viruses-bacteria-in-the-air-thanks-to-climate-change/articleshow/93445722.cms">report </a>by Nature Climate Change. It could only worsen in years to come. <div type="image" title="Stay safe, mask up!" msid="93786150" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Stay safe, mask up!&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> The research <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/environment/news/there-are-200-more-active-viruses-bacteria-in-the-air-thanks-to-climate-change/articleshow/93445722.cms">revealed </a>that warming, precipitation, floods, drought, storm, land cover change, ocean climate change, fires, heatwaves and sea level changes were all found to influence diseases triggered by viruses, bacteria, animals, fungi, protozoans, plants and chromists. Pathogenic diseases were primarily transmitted by vectors. So, to stay safe, mask up people! Disclaimer: This content, including the advice, provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Please contact a medical professional for more information.

SIMPLY PUT: All you need to know to keep yourself safe from the newly emerging diseases

As India reopened after two dreadful years of Covid-19, the country saw a re-emergence of infectious diseases and a new variant of the hand-foot-and-mouth disease, also known as <keyword id="13885432" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="tomato-flu" source="Orion">tomato flu</keyword>, created quite a scare across many states. <keyword id="6384473" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="tomato" source="Orion">Tomato</keyword> flu is a rare viral infection that could be a new variant of the viral hand-foot-and-mouth disease, a common infectious disease targeting mostly children aged one to five years. Initially, <keyword id="28504" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="kerala" source="Orion">Kerala</keyword>, <keyword id="20154" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="tamil-nadu" source="Orion">Tamil Nadu</keyword> and Odisha reported tomato flu cases. Tomato flu was first identified in the Kollam district of Kerala, on May 6, 2022. The Kerala Health Department took precautionary measures to monitor the spread of the viral infection and prevent its spread in other parts of India. In September, Assam reported over 100 cases of tomato flu, sounding an alarm for the state health department. The maximum number of cases were reported from two schools in Dibrugarh district. The <keyword id="6357713" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="uttar-pradesh" source="Orion">Uttar Pradesh</keyword> and Tamil Nadu governments had also issued advisories on tomato flu. Though the tomato flu disease is not seen as life-threatening, healthcare experts warned that any further spread of the disease may hit schools again after the Covid-19 pandemic. Health officials also said that the chances of adults contracting the disease are feeble. Bhawuk Dhir, dermatologist at Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, said that this is a clear sign of heading towards an era of viral diseases. "Clearly, we are heading towards an era of viral diseases with the rampage of Covid-19, Monkeypox and now hand-foot-and-mouth disease -- as was predicted by various researchers in the past," Dhir had told IANS. "Tomato flu is caused by Coxsackie virus A16 (a non-polio enterovirus), which is highly contagious and spreads through secretions from the nose, throat, fluid from the blisters and fecal-oral route," Dhir added. In most cases, it is a mild self-limiting viral disease and requires supportive care for recovery. A few may develop complications such as meningitis and disseminated infection. The Union Health Ministry also issued guidelines on Tomato flu, underlining that its treatment is similar to other viral infections like isolation, rest, plenty of fluids and hot water sponge for relief from irritation and rashes. Supportive therapy of paracetamol for fever and body ache and other symptomatic treatments are required. "Tomato flu is a self-limiting infectious disease as the signs and symptoms resolve after a few days," the ministry guidelines said. No antiviral drugs or vaccines are available for the treatment or prevention of Tomato Flu. "The term tomato fever was used because of the red-coloured blisters which resemble a tomato. A similar outbreak was reported in Kerala in 2007," according to Dhir. Although not many new cases are being reported now, the best way to prevent this disease is maintaining proper hygiene and sanitisation of the surrounding environment as well as preventing the infected child from sharing toys, clothes, food, or other items with other non-infected children.

New Tomato flu variant creates health scare among kids in several states

Sydney, Aug 15 (The Conversation): The <keyword id="19896311" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Health-Organization" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="World Health Organization" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="World Health Organization">World Health Organization</keyword> (<keyword id="19895006" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="WHO" source="keywords">WHO</keyword>) has declared <keyword id="20965747" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="mpox" source="keywords">mpox</keyword> a public health emergency of international concern, after rising cases in the <keyword id="22796094" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Democratic-Republic-of-the-Congo" source="keywords">Democratic Republic of the Congo</keyword> and the potential for further spread. This now triggers a coordinated international response to an extraordinary event and the mobilisation of resources, such as vaccines and diagnostic testing, to curb the spread of this infectious disease. But WHO has not declared mpox a <keyword id="19913581" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pandemic" source="keywords">pandemic</keyword>. Rather, the measures it has triggered are designed to prevent it from becoming one. <h2>What triggered this latest alert?</h2> Mpox, once known as monkeypox, is a viral infection closely related to <keyword id="22362924" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="smallpox" source="keywords">smallpox</keyword>. Initial symptoms include a fever, headache, swelling of the lymph nodes and muscle ache. A typical rash follows, mainly on the face, hands and feet. The spread of mpox through certain African countries led the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to declare earlier this week mpox a public health emergency of continental security. This is the first time the organisation has issued such an alert since it was established in 2017. The situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa has been particularly worrying for more than a year. There are two types or clades of mpox. Clade II, which originates in west Africa, is less severe. It has a fatality rate of up to 1 per cent (in other words, roughly one in 100 are expected to die from it). But clade I, from central Africa, has a fatality rate of up to 10 per cent (up to one in ten die). This compares to a 0.7 per cent fatality rate for the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is seeing large epidemics of the more deadly clade I mpox. Mpox is endemic in some parts of central and west Africa, where the virus exists in animals and can spread to humans. Outbreaks have been increasing, with more human-to-human spread, since 2017. This is partly due to very low levels of immunity to the mpox virus, which is related to the virus that causes smallpox. Mass vaccination against smallpox ceased more than 40 years ago globally, resulting in minimal immunity in populations today against mpox. The WHO designation announced this week relates to the clade I. Not only does this have a higher fatality rate, it has new mutations that enhance spread between people. These changes, and the global lack of immunity to mpox, makes the world's population vulnerable to the virus. <h2>There are two different epidemics</h2> In 2022, an epidemic of mpox swept through non-endemic countries, including beyond Africa. This was a variant of clade II originating from Nigeria, called clade IIb. This was sexually transmitted, predominantly affecting men who have sex with men, and had a low fatality rate. That epidemic peaked in 2022, with vaccines made available to people at risk in high-income countries, but there has been an uptick in 2024. At the same time, large clade I epidemics were occurring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but with far less attention. Vaccines were not available there, even in 2023, when there were 14,626 cases and 654 deaths. Mortality was 4.5 per cent, and higher in children. In fact, most cases and deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been children. This means most transmission there is non-sexual and is likely to have occurred through close contact or respiratory aerosols. However, in 2023 an <keyword id="20877025" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="outbreak" source="keywords">outbreak</keyword> in a non-endemic part of the country, South Kivu in the east, appeared to be by sexual transmission, indicating more than one epidemic and different transmission modes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By mid-2024, there were already more cases in the country than all of 2023 - more than 15,600 cases and 537 deaths. Testing capacity is low in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, most cases are not confirmed by lab testing, and the data we have are from a small sample of genomic sequences from the Kamituga region of South Kivu. This show mutations to the clade I virus around September 2023, to a variant termed clade Ib, which is more readily transmissible between people. We do not have much data to compare these viruses with the viruses causing cases in the rest of the country. <h2>Mpox is spreading internationally</h2> In the past month, the virus has spread to countries that share a border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Rwanda and Burundi. It has also spread to other east African countries, such as Kenya and Uganda. None of these countries have had mpox cases previously. In an interconnected, mobile world, cases may spread to other continents, as mpox did in 2018 from Nigeria to the United Kingdom and other countries. A few travel-related cases between 2018 and 2019 may have led to the large multi-country 2022 clade IIb epidemic. <h2>We have vaccines, but not where they are needed</h2> As the mpox virus and smallpox viruses are related (they are both orthopoxviruses), smallpox vaccines offer protection against mpox. These vaccines were used to control the 2022 clade IIb epidemic. However, most of the world has never been vaccinated, and has no immunity to mpox. The newer <keyword id="19959412" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vaccine" source="keywords">vaccine</keyword> (called Jynneos in some countries and Imvamune or Imvanex in others) is effective. However, supplies are limited, and vaccine is scarce in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. WHO's declaration of mpox as a public health emergency of international concern will help mobilise vaccines to where they are needed. The Africa Centres for Disease Control had already begun negotiations to secure 2,00,000 doses of vaccine, which is a fraction of what is required to control the epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. <h2>What happens now?</h2> Ultimately, a serious epidemic anywhere in the world is a concern for all of us, as it can spread globally through travel, as we saw with the COVID pandemic. Controlling it at the source is the best measure, and WHO's latest declaration will help mobilise the required resources. Surveillance for spread of this more serious version of mpox is also essential, bearing in mind that many countries do not have the capacity for widespread testing. So we'll have to rely on "suspected cases", based on a clinical definition, to keep track of the epidemic. Open-source epidemic intelligence - such as using AI to monitor trends in rash and fever illness - can also be used as an early warning system in countries with weak health systems or delayed reporting of cases. A further complication is that 20-30 per cent of people with mpox may simultaneously have chickenpox, an unrelated infection that also causes a rash. So an initial diagnosis of chickenpox (which is easier to test for) does not rule out mpox. Effective communication and tackling push-back against public health measures and disinformation is also key. We saw how important this was during the COVID pandemic. Now, WHO will coordinate the global mpox response, focusing on equity in disease prevention and access to diagnostics and vaccines. It is up to individual countries to do their best to comply with the International Health Regulations, and the protocols for how such a global emergency are managed.

WHO has declared mpox a global health emergency. What happens next?

Hello,Welcome to Insider <keyword id="11897506" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="healthcare" source="Orion">Healthcare</keyword>. I'm healthcare editor Leah Rosenbaum, and today in healthcare news:<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fauci-extra-shots-of-covid-19-vaccines-should-be-standard-2021-11">Dr. Fauci said in a recent interview that booster shots aren't a luxury</a>; </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/delta-variant-most-sequenced-covid-tests-worldwide-past-60-days-2021-11">The Delta variant has caused the vast majority of COVID-19 cases worldwide over the last two months</a>;</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cdc-2nd-american-has-monkeypox-pus-boils-after-nigeria-visit-2021-11">A second American has come down with a rare disease called monkeypox.</a></li></ul>If you're new to this <keyword id="11894123" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="newsletter" source="Orion">newsletter</keyword>, <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/insider-healthcare">sign up here.</a> Comments, tips? Email me at <a href="mailto:lrosenbaum@insider.com">lrosenbaum@insider.com</a> or tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/leah_rosenbaum">@leah_rosenbaum.</a> Let's get to it... <h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fauci-extra-shots-of-covid-19-vaccines-should-be-standard-2021-11">Dr. Fauci says 'a booster isn't a luxury' — think of it as the final step in your COVID-19 vaccine regimen</a></h3><ul><li>Dr. <keyword id="11933279" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="fauci" source="Orion">Fauci</keyword> predicts that Pfizer and Moderna <keyword id="11893994" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19" source="Orion">COVID-19</keyword> vaccines may, one day, be considered three shot vaccinations. </li><li>That's because the immune system learns better when shots are spaced several months apart.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fauci-extra-shots-of-covid-19-vaccines-should-be-standard-2021-11">It's possible that "we're not going to see an absolute need to reboost every several months" after that, he said. </a></li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fauci-extra-shots-of-covid-19-vaccines-should-be-standard-2021-11">Read more now&gt;&gt;</a><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/delta-variant-most-sequenced-covid-tests-worldwide-past-60-days-2021-11"><div type="image" title="tsa christmas" height="2754" width="3673" msid="87784269" hostid="261"></div>The Delta variant was detected on 99.7% of sequenced tests worldwide in the past 60 days</a></h3><ul><li>Of almost 800,000 sequences collected in the last 60 days, 99.7% were Delta, a WHO report said. </li><li>Delta is highly infectious and has mutations that help it avoid the immune response.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/delta-variant-most-sequenced-covid-tests-worldwide-past-60-days-2021-11">It was first detected in India in October 2020 and has since spread to at least 166 countries.</a></li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/delta-variant-most-sequenced-covid-tests-worldwide-past-60-days-2021-11">Check it out&gt;&gt;</a><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cdc-2nd-american-has-monkeypox-pus-boils-after-nigeria-visit-2021-11"><div type="image" title="pox viruses" height="2847" width="3806" msid="87784270" hostid="261"></div></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cdc-2nd-american-has-monkeypox-pus-boils-after-nigeria-visit-2021-11">A second American has come down with monkeypox, a rare virus that causes pus-filled boils</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cdc-2nd-american-has-monkeypox-pus-boils-after-nigeria-visit-2021-11"></a></h3><ul><li>A US resident got monkeypox after returning from Nigeria to Maryland.</li><li>A similar but separate case was reported in Dallas in July.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cdc-2nd-american-has-monkeypox-pus-boils-after-nigeria-visit-2021-11">Monkeypox is rare but can be deadly, so the CDC has urged vigilance around pox-like lesions.</a></li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cdc-2nd-american-has-monkeypox-pus-boils-after-nigeria-visit-2021-11">Dive in&gt;&gt;</a>More stories we're reading:<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/anthony-fauci-daily-covid-19-cases-us-below-10000-normality-2021-11">Fauci says COVID-19 cases need to fall below 10,000 per day for a 'degree of normality,' as daily cases reach 85,000</a> (Insider)</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Fdrug-overdose-deaths-fueled-by-fentanyl-hit-record-high-in-u-s-11637161200%3Fst%3Drei9o4xgmu9da3o%26reflink%3Ddesktopwebshare_twitter">Drug overdose deaths have reached an all-time high in America</a> (The Wall Street Journal)</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/covid-antibody-test-should-i-get-one-booster-vaccine-expert-2021-11">Antibody tests can show whether you need a COVID-19 booster shot, some experts say — but the FDA disagrees</a> (Insider)</li><li><a href="https://www.axios.com/schools-buy-air-filtration-systems-may-be-harmful-c4dd3dc5-4737-4280-aa33-1f4ebe1aa1c9.html?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=editorial&amp;utm_content=health-schoolscovid">School districts invested in air purifying systems, but they may not have worked as expected</a> (Axios) </li></ul>-Leah

Fauci: Boosters aren't a luxury

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Polio, monkeypox, marburg virus, and other infectious diseases are surging around the globe.</li><li>Experts say there's not one thing driving the surge — a multi-layered perfect storm has been brewing for some time.</li></ul>2022 has been a banner year for global infectious disease spread — and it's not just COVID. First, there were the reports of little kids with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cdc-5-dead-109-ill-pediatric-hepatitis-outbreak-2022-5">mysterious and life-threatening liver failure</a> across the US and Europe. Then <a href="https://www.insider.com/monkeypox-gay-bisexual-men-affected-but-who-warns-stigma-2022-5">monkeypox</a> cases <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/response/2022/us-map.html">surged</a> across the globe like never before.<a href="https://www.insider.com/meningococcal-disease-meningitis-outbreak-florida-2022-6">Meningitis</a> has killed at least a dozen people in Florida this year, according to state epidemiologists, while a fatal <a href="https://www.insider.com/healthy-newborn-died-parechovirus-signs-symptoms-2022-7">parechovirus infected newborns</a> across several states — at least one baby died in Connecticut. In Australia and Belgium, <a href="https://theconversation.com/diphtheria-is-back-in-australia-heres-why-and-how-vaccines-can-prevent-its-spread-186348">diphtheria made a comeback</a>, and cases of the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/marburg/outbreaks/chronology.html">Marburg virus</a> are being identified for the first time ever in Ghana.Then, just last week, New York City announced that there is <a href="https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/polio/wastewater.htm">polio in its wastewater</a>, mirroring a highly unusual trend picked up in <a href="https://www.insider.com/polio-found-in-london-sewage-water-uk-health-officials-investigating-2022-6">London's sewers</a> in the spring. "It's like all the biblical plagues are coming back, right?" Dr. Madhukar Pai, a global health expert at McGill, told Insider. It didn't happen overnight, and it's not a direct result of the pandemic either, but disease experts agree: the <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fs41579-021-00639-z">pace of these infectious outbreaks</a> is <a href="https://www.cfr.org/timeline/major-epidemics-modern-era">quickening</a>. Pai and other top-tier experts say there is no single, "simplistic" explanation. Instead, there is a wide web of at least seven powerful, interwoven issues undergirding the trend. "It's definitely not something that we hoped would happen in public health, but it's also a situation which we feared might happen," Dr. Jay Varma, an expert in disease control and prevention at Cornell, said. "If you think about it almost like a sports event, the offense has gotten more intense — if you consider the viruses and pathogens that are out there — and our defense has weakened at the same time."Here are the top seven factors driving disease outbreaks in 2022.<h2>ONE: Humans and animals have more close contact</h2><div type="image" title="mink covid-19" height="1848" width="2464" msid="93614982" hostid="261"></div>As climate change pushes people and animals out of their homes, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-the-us-handled-its-first-ever-monkeypox-outbreak-2022-5">pets</a> and animal products travel the globe, and worldwide demand for meat reaches <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/03/22/2197061/0/en/Global-Animal-Protein-Market-to-Reach-58-50-Billion-by-2027-AMR.html">all-time highs</a>, we're collectively coming in contact with all kinds of animals far more often than we used to."The human-animal interface has been broken," as Dr. Larry Brilliant, who helped eradicate smallpox, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyFcfL6iF4o&amp;t=872s">recently put it</a>. The <a href="http://www.emro.who.int/fr/about-who/rc61/zoonotic-diseases.html">World Health Organization</a> estimated in 2014 that 75% of today's emerging pathogens have "originated in animals," a number that has been accelerating in recent decades. Human-animal interaction is how <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abp8715">COVID</a> first spread into people. Ebola, HIV, MERS, SARS, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pandemic-flu-comes-from-birds-first-2019-7">influenza</a>, and monkeypox all have animal reservoirs, too. When a disease pivots from animals into people, it always has the potential to spawn a new outbreak. "The first factor that's driving transmission is increasing interaction between humans and animals, in <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/583117-why-stopping-deforestation-must-be-a-priority-for-public-health/amp/">settings that are not entirely natural</a>, or settings that are different from the way they have been in the past," Varma said.Deforestation, sequestration of livestock, and <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/initiatives/reducing-zoonotic-disease-risk-from-wildlife-trade">illicit wildlife trade</a> — they all play a role."Human population is now so enormous that we will infiltrate into all sorts of ecosystems where we will encounter novel organisms — organisms to which we don't have much prior immunity," Pai added. <h2>TWO: The pace of global travel and migration</h2><div type="image" title="flight attendant riding moving walkway at aiport with suitcase" height="3000" width="3999" msid="93614985" hostid="261"></div>The global, interconnected, social nature of modern life helps spread diseases between people more efficiently than ever. Any infectious disease anywhere in the world is just one flight away. "Every time someone gets on a plane, there is some very tiny risk that they'll be carrying something new with them," Dr. Eric Rubin, editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, told Insider. "The more people get on planes, the more that risk goes up."It's a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/emirates-plane-flu-harvard-doctor-says-were-lucky-it-wasnt-mers-2018-9">numbers game</a>. And with the number of air <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/air-travel-consumer-report-consumer-complaints-against-airlines-rise-more-300-percent">travelers now skyrocketing</a>, new pathogens can travel very fast, and very far.In 2022, both monkeypox and polio hitched a ride on planes, infecting people on new continents. Conversely, when global travel ground to a halt in 2020, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/two-flu-varieties-disappeared-lockdown-extinct-2021-6">flu essentially disappeared for a year</a>.<h2>THREE: The worsening climate crisis</h2><div type="image" title="A photo of an insurance adjuster inspecting flood damage." height="600" width="1200" msid="93614987" hostid="261"></div>A paper released in the journal <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fs41558-022-01426-1">Nature on August 8</a> suggests that most of the human pathogens on Earth will be "aggravated" by climate change in some way. Many of them already have been. "Insect-borne diseases are <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/stats/graphs.html">really changing their patterns</a>, because the insects that carry them now have a much broader range," Rubin said, <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/the-history-of-zika-virus#:~:text=First%20identified%20in%20Uganda%20in,countries%20experiencing%20Zika%20virus%20outbreaks.">citing the way that Zika</a> — once a disease contained to Africa — has been allowed to spread across Asia and the Americas. <a href="https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/chikungunya-monthly">Chikungunya</a>, too, is now a global disease, not the regional threat it once was."The tropics has moved into Europe and North America," Varma said. <h2>FOUR: Not enough routine vaccines for kids</h2><div type="image" title="A boy getting the polio vaccine" height="2250" width="3000" msid="93614988" hostid="261"></div>During the pandemic, vaccination rates plummeted across the globe in a way that hasn't been documented in decades. The <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/15-07-2022-covid-19-pandemic-fuels-largest-continued-backslide-in-vaccinations-in-three-decades">WHO calls it</a> the "largest sustained decline in childhood vaccinations in approximately 30 years." Add to that the vaccination <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-vaccine-court-is-it-real-2019-3">backsliding that was already underway in many rich countries</a>, fueled by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/experts-fact-check-vaccine-claims-by-robert-malone-rogan-podcast-2022-2">misinformation</a> and vaccine hesitancy, and it was inevitable that an uptick in vaccine-preventable disease spread would happen once lockdowns, social distancing, and masking measures eased. "We need everyone to be getting vaccinated, or we all face risks," Varma said. In some areas of Rockland County, New York, where polio has left at least one young, unvaccinated man paralyzed this year, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7133e2.htm?s_cid=mm7133e2_w">just 37% of little kids are up to date</a> on their polio vaccines. (For context: nationally, nearly 93% of babies are vaccinated against polio.)<h2>FIVE: The whole world is paying the price for years of neglecting developing countries' disease outbreaks</h2><div type="image" title="Provider measures monkeypox vaccine." height="3003" width="4759" msid="93614990" hostid="261"></div>"All these years, Africans had monkeypox, nobody did a thing, nobody gave them vaccines," Pai said. "Now, suddenly, all the rich nations are going after — and getting — monkeypox vaccinations?"Eventually, he said, "we pay the price" for such "archaic," "parochial," and short-sighted disease management. "If monkeypox had been handled better in Africa, it wouldn't have spread around the world. If COVID had been handled better in low and middle income countries, new variants would not have emerged. If Ebola had been contained in West Africa, even before it spread, then it wouldn't have arrived in the US."<h2>SIX: Our shifting perception of disease threats </h2><div type="image" title="screenshot of promed map with dots all around the globe on august 16 2022" height="539" width="851" msid="93614992" hostid="261"></div>We've also been shaped by our experiences during the pandemic, and we can't help but bring that knowledge into infectious disease news we read now. In some cases, it's overblown, Pai said. "Some <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-cattle-disease-idUSKCN24G1DK">little outbreak happens</a> in some corner of some market <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2202705">in China</a>, immediately everybody across the world is freaking out."In many, heightened concern is <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/07/28/1114183886/a-doctor-in-nigeria-tried-to-warn-the-world-that-monkeypox-had-become-a-global-t">warranted</a>.These days, scientists also have better tools than ever for noticing what's going on — <a href="https://www.bu.edu/neidl/2021/12/southern-africa-is-not-a-hotbed-of-variants-its-just-very-good-at-sequencing-and-spotting-them/">sequencing</a> viruses, testing cases, and sounding alarm bells they couldn't have years ago. "COVID has really changed the way we notice these things," Rubin said, speaking about average news readers and professional scientists alike. "Every day there's a disease of some sort <a href="https://promedmail.org/">reported somewhere</a> in the world," he said — and that is, in part, because we are all paying more attention to them than we used to. <h2>SEVEN: We're still not sure how COVID exposure has affected our immune systems</h2><div type="image" title="Dr. Francis S. Collins, who serves as the Acting Science Advisor the president is the highest-paid White House employee." height="1828" width="2438" msid="93614993" hostid="261"></div>New disease threats are especially alarming right now because it's <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncird/investigation/hepatitis-unknown-cause/parents.html/">not yet clear</a> to us what effect <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2531043721000040">prior COVID</a> could be having on our <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/common-long-covid-symptoms-hair-loss-vertigo-low-libido-2022-7">immune defenses</a>. "We will learn in the coming months and years," Pai said, "whether COVID does mess up the immune system to some degree or the other, which makes us more susceptible." Already, he's worried that doctors' overdependence on steroid <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/pdf/covid19-impact-report-508.pdf">and antibiotic prescriptions</a> during the pandemic may spur more <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/the-pandemic-fueled-a-superbug-surge-can-medicine-recover/">fungal infections, superbugs,</a> and antimicrobial resistance.<h2>Another pandemic is coming. We could stop it — but experts fear 'we've given up'</h2><div type="image" title="A sign outside of a New York clinic reads &quot;appointment only&quot;" height="1333" width="2000" msid="93614995" hostid="261"></div>Scientists <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2105482118">estimate our odds of experiencing another pandemic</a> "may double in coming decades," as disease outbreaks fueled by this wide array of interrelated, complex factors become more and more common. But when it comes to disease prevention, "you're better off not thinking that the 10 plagues have been released simultaneously," Rubin said. "Each disease is distinct," with different biological features, distinct reasons for emerging, and varying modes of transmission and prevention."The answer is more investment in public health, right?" Pai said. It's often "stuff that we've given up on," he said, interventions that are "undermined," like clean drinking water, good sanitation, vaccines, equitable access to treatment and clinical care, as well as robust disease research."Our racism in the way we think about infectious diseases," he says, "eventually will come back and haunt us — which is what is happening."

Yes, there are more infectious diseases popping up these days &mdash; experts say there are 7 clear reasons why

<ul><li>Both SARS-CoV-2 and <keyword id="15071303" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="khosta-2" source="Orion">Khosta-2</keyword> belong to the same sub-category of coronaviruses known as sarbecoviruses. </li><li>A study has shown that the new <keyword id="10860" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="virus" source="Orion">virus</keyword> can dodge the current vaccine immunity of people. </li><li>However, no human cases have been found yet anywhere globally.</li></ul>Just after the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that there is an end in sight for the Covid-19 pandemic, a new Covid-like virus named Khosta-2 was detected in <keyword id="15071304" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="russian-bats" source="Orion">Russian bats</keyword> by a team of researchers at Washington State University (WSU) in the US. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What is Khosta-2 virus?" comment="subhead" text="What is Khosta-2 virus?">What is Khosta-2 virus?</cmsannotation> Khosta-2 is a sarbecovirus, which is technically a respiratory <keyword id="15106989" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="virus-like-covid" source="Orion">virus like Covid</keyword>. The virus was first identified in 2020 but the scientists did not think that this virus would pose a threat to humans. However, according to a recent study by researchers of WSU’s Paul Allen School for Global Health, the Khosta-2 virus can infect human cells. Both SARS-CoV-2 and Khosta-2 belong to the same sub-category of coronaviruses known as sarbecoviruses. “In this study, we tested how well the spike proteins from these bat viruses infect human cells under different conditions. We found that the spike from virus Khosta-2 could infect cells similar to human pathogens using the same entry mechanisms, but was resistant to neutralisation by serum from individuals who had been vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2,” the researchers <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1010828#abstract1">said</a> in a journal PLoS Pathogens. It also highlighted that the new virus can dodge the current vaccine immunity of people. “We do not want to scare anybody and say this is a completely vaccine-resistant virus," Michael Letko, the lead scientist in the study, <a href="https://time.com/6215810/coronavirus-bats-russia-vaccine-resistant/">told</a> Time magazine. A related virus named Khosta-1 was found in Russian bats in 2020 only, however, it couldn’t enter human cells like Khosta-2. The new virus attaches to the same protein, ACE2, which SARS-CoV-2 uses to penetrate human cells. But the good news is that the Khosta-2 virus will not cause a serious disease in people like the Omicron variant of Covid-19, the study suggests. “But it is concerning that there are viruses circulating in nature that have these properties—they can bind to human receptors and are not so neutralised by current vaccine responses,” said Letko, who is assistant professor in the Paul G. Allen School. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="No cases found in humans yet" comment="subhead" text="No cases found in humans yet">No cases found in humans yet</cmsannotation> As of now, no Khosta-2 cases in humans have been reported yet, Dr Pragya Yadav, Indian Council of Medical Research - National Institute of Virology (ICMR-NIV), Pune told news agency ANI. She said, “Seifert et al. reported that Khosta-2 could infect cells expressing human ACE2. However, the probability of the Zoonotic spillover of the sarbecoviruses from animals to humans could not be denied like, it happened earlier with SARS-CoV-1 and 2 viruses.” The Indian government is now ready to handle any kind of public health emergency situation related to the emergence or reemergence of any viral pathogen in India, Dr. Yadav clarified. “We have already exhibited this strength in the past as during the times of Zika, Nipah, and Monkeypox viruses, and the Covid-19 pandemic,” she added. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/heres-why-heart-problems-are-rising-among-young-indians/articleshow/94470756.cms">Here’s why heart problems are rising among young Indians</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/7-out-of-10-cardiac-patients-can-be-saved-with-cpr-experts/articleshow/94475882.cms">7 out of 10 cardiac patients can be saved with CPR: Experts</a>

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