The “monkeypox” virus is undergoing an accelerated evolution. Which element is involved? Do vaccinations play a role?
A new study in monkeypox provides a possible clue as to why the virus is spreading so rapidly. Researchers have found that the virus contains an unusually large number of mutations, which could represent "accelerated evolution."
According to the new peer-reviewed study, published June 24 in the medical journal Nature Medicine, the new monkeypox strain has an average of 50 mutations in the samples examined by Portuguese researchers, while only a dozen were normally expected.
The unexpectedly large number of genetic variations in the currently spreading monkeypox variant suggests that the virus may be rapidly adapting, with possible implications for transmission rate.
"Our data reveal [further clues to ongoing viral evolution and potential human adaptation," the research team writes in the study.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the current outbreak has seen a total of 2,103 laboratory-confirmed cases of monkeypox, including one death. "The monkeypox epidemic continues to affect mainly men who have sex with men who have reported having recently had sex with new or multiple partners," the WHO said. In the United States, health authorities said they had identified 201 cases of monkeypox in a June 24 count.
On June 22, the Biden administration said it had expanded its monkeypox testing capacity by sending the tests to five commercial laboratory companies. "By dramatically expanding the number of testing centers across the country, we are making it possible for anyone who needs to get tested," said Xavier Becerra, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). "All Americans should be concerned about monkeypox cases."
Let's ask ourselves a question: “Monkeypox” has been known since the 1970s. There have been limited epidemics since 2003. Why is there this explosion of variations right now? What has changed in the last 50 years to make a little-spread and almost harmless virus capable of changing so rapidly? Did any element upset an existing balance, such as a vaccination? Or is someone playing with viruses?
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The article The "monkey pox" virus is undergoing an accelerated evolution. Which element is involved? Do vaccinations play a role? comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/il-virus-del-vaiolo-delle-scimmie-sta-avendo-unevoluzione-accelerata-quale-elemento-sta-intervendo-le-vaccinazioni-hanno-un-ruolo/ on Sun, 26 Jun 2022 16:26:51 +0000.