With Pride events scheduled worldwide over the coming weeks, U.S. officials are bracing for a return of mpox, the infectious disease formerly called monkeypox that struck tens of thousands of gay and bisexual men worldwide in 2022.
A combination of behavioral changes and vaccination quelled that outbreak, but a majority of those at risk have not yet been immunized.
On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned of a deadlier version of mpox that is ravaging the Democratic Republic of Congo and urged people at risk to be vaccinated as soon as possible.
But the escalating epidemic in Congo nevertheless poses a global threat, just as infections in Nigeria set off the 2022 outbreak, experts said.
Dr. Rimoin has studied mpox in Congo for more than 20 years, and first warned of its potential for global spread in 2010.
Persons:
”, Anne Rimoin, Rimoin
Organizations:
Centers for Disease Control, Democratic, University of California
Locations:
Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa, Congo, Nigeria, Los Angeles