Mpox in a nutshell

Mpox infection is caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV), an enveloped double-stranded DNA virus of the Orthopoxvirus genus in the Poxviridae family. There are 2 distinct genetic clades, called clade I (formerly Central African clade) and clade II (formerly West African clade). Clade I is linked to more severe disease and a higher case fatality rate of approximately 10% (compared to 0.1% with clade II infections

The 2022 – 2023 global outbreak of mpox was associated with a variant of clade II, called clade IIb, with cases mainly but not exclusively identified amongst men who have sex with men (MSM). During this time, South Africa saw five cases, all men aged 28 to 41 years, three of whom had recent travel from Switzerland, Spain and Netherlands.

The current mpox outbreak since 2023 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is linked to clade I and is mainly associated with sex workers. This DRC outbreak heralded the first documented sexual transmission of clade I and the first described transmission of clade I among the MSM community.

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