Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Thursday released the genome sequencing results of the nation’s first case of monkeypox, revealing that the patient contracted the less fatal B.1 variant of the virus.
The CDC made the announcement in a press release on Thursday, stating that the B.1 strain contracted by the Taiwanese patient is not the strain from central Africa which has a fatality rate of 10 percent, but rather the one recently found in monkeypox outbreaks in Europe and the United States, which originally came from west Africa.
CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (???) added that the CDC has shared the results of the genome sequencing with science initiative GISAID, which provides open access to genomic data on influenza viruses globally and the coronavirus causing COVID-19.
Chuang said sharing the data with GISAID will contribute to international medical studies and research.
On June 24, the CDC reported Taiwan’s first confirmed case of monkeypox in a man who returned from Germany.
Four days after returning to Taiwan the man developed symptoms that included a fever, sore throat, muscle pain, swollen lymph nodes in the groin and a skin rash.
The man is currently still being treated in hospital.
The monkeypox outbreak started around mid-May in the U.K. As of July 7, 60 nations have reported a combined total of 7,373 cases, with three fatalities so far reported from countries in Africa.
CDC statistics indicate that the outbreak is most common in Europe and the Americas, the top five countries being the U.K. with 1,351 cases, Germany 1,304, Spain 1,256, the U.S. 605 and France 577.
Chuang went on to say that Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore are the only countries to have reported cases in Asia.
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.
On June 23, the CDC officially designated monkeypox a category 2 communicable disease, citing its global spread.
The designation means that doctors are now 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.
Chuang also added that the spread of the virus is limited, spreading through close contact with an infected animal or person, and transmission occurring through direct contact with infectious rashes, scabs, body fluids, or materials infected with the virus.
In addition to border screening and spreading awareness of the virus, Chuang said the CDC will also seek to procure medications such as third generation smallpox vaccines.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel