The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Thursday released genome sequencing results of Taiwan’s first reported monkeypox case, showing that the person had contracted the less fatal B.1 variant of the virus.
The B.1 strain contracted by the Taiwanese man is not the strain from central Africa that has a fatality rate of 10 percent, but rather the one found in monkeypox outbreaks in Europe and the US, which came from west Africa, the CDC said in a statement.
CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said that the CDC has shared the sequencing results with Germany-based science initiative GISAID, which provides open access to genomic data on influenza viruses and SARS-CoV-2 globally.
Sharing the data with GISAID contributes to international medical studies and research, Chuang said.
On June 24, the CDC reported Taiwan’s first confirmed case of monkeypox in a man who returned from Germany.
The man developed symptoms four days after arriving in Taiwan, including a fever, sore throat, muscle pain, swollen lymph nodes in the groin and a skin rash.
The man is being treated at a hospital.
A monkeypox outbreak started in the UK in the middle of May. As of Thursday, 60 nations had reported a total of 7,373 cases, with three fatalities reported in African nations.
CDC statistics indicate that Europe and the Americas have the most cases, the top five states being the UK with 1,351 cases, Germany with 1,304, Spain with 1,256, the US with 605 and France with 577.
Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore are the only countries to have reported cases in Asia, Chuang said.
However, as neither Singapore nor South Korea have published the genome sequencing results for their cases, no further comparisons on the origins and strains of the virus can be made, he said.
On June 23, the CDC officially designated monkeypox a category 2 communicable disease, citing its global spread.
The designation means that doctors are required to report confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox to the CDC within 24 hours.
Other category 2 communicable diseases in Taiwan include dengue fever, Zika fever, typhoid fever, measles and Chikungunya.
The global monkeypox outbreak is limited, as it is spread through close contact with an infected animal or person, Chuang added.
In addition to border screening and spreading awareness of the virus, Chuang said the CDC would seek medications such as third-generation smallpox vaccines.
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