More cases of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, are surfacing across the globe, with the virus spreading to Sweden, Pakistan and the Philippines. It was enough for the World Health Organization to declare a global public health emergency last week, which can accelerate vaccine access and distribution. "It's clear that a coordinated international response is needed," WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared, adding that it will help "stop these outbreaks and save lives."
What is it? Mpox is a virus that can be fatal, causing fever, aches and pus-filled lesions. The virus has been sequenced into two types, including the severe clade I group (formerly known as the Congo Basin strain), as well as the clade II variant (previously known as the West African strain). The latter was behind an outbreak that resulted in around 100K cases worldwide in 2022, but clade I has now been spreading internationally following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that led to more than 1,100 deaths since January.
Compared to the 2022 wave that largely spread among men who have sex with men, a new variant of the Congo Basin strain, called clade Ib, now appears to be spreading more easily through routine close contact. While it's usually mild, it can kill vulnerable people, like the immunocompromised and children. Some nations, like China, have put in place surveillance measures at ports of entry, screening people from areas with confirmed mpox cases and sanitizing goods entering the country, but others believe the impact of the virus will be low if certain precautions are taken.
Market movement: Danish biotech Bavarian Nordic (OTCPK:BVNKF) has been a big beneficiary since the announcement by the WHO, with its shares soaring in recent sessions amid plans to ramp up mpox vaccine production. Emergent BioSolutions (EBS), which has an approved jab and treatment for related-disease smallpox, is also up 7% in early trade on Monday, along with test maker Co-Diagnostics (CODX). Some mpox players have even gone to the moon (for now), such as Tonix Pharmaceuticals (TNXP), Virax Biolabs (VRAX) and GeoVax (GOVX), which are each up over 50% premarket, as well as Applied DNA Sciences (APDN) skyrocketing 186%. (6 comments)
