Rising Mpox Cases in Korea: Experts Warn of Possible Mutations and Spread

[시사뉴스 김성훈 기자] According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the 22nd, there are 20 cumulative Mpox confirmed cases in Korea.

In particular, 10 new cases were confirmed this week alone, 3 each on the 17th and 18th, and 2 each on the 19th and 20th.

Mpox is usually treated naturally after 2 to 4 weeks, but the variable is whether or not mutations occur.

Mutations occur as viruses replicate. The problem is that depending on the mutation, the effectiveness of existing vaccines or treatments may decrease, increasing the fatality rate or transmission power.

In the case of Corona 19, mutations occurred from the ‘S’ type virus that occurred in Wuhan, China, to the ‘V’ type and the ‘G’ type, to the alpha type, beta type, and delta type.

In particular, in the case of the delta type, the fatality rate is higher than that of the existing virus, and in July 2021, when this virus was the dominant species, the cumulative fatality rate in Korea exceeded 1%. It is 10 times the current fatality rate of 0.11%.

In the case of the Omicron mutation that occurred later, the fatality rate was lower than that of the delta mutation, but the transmission power was significantly higher, and it spread to the extent that 620,000 new confirmed cases occurred in Korea alone per day.

Even though the fatality rate was low, the number of deaths increased at a certain rate due to the rapid increase in confirmed cases, resulting in about 8,000 deaths in March 2022.

After the Omicron pandemic, new strains of mutation did not become prevalent, but detailed mutations such as BA.2, BA.5, BN.1, and XBB.1.5 have occurred within Omicron and have reached the present.

In the case of mpox, considering the propagation power, the possibility of a fatal mutation occurring immediately is low, according to experts.

Currently, there are only 20 Mpox confirmed cases in Korea and only 80,000 people worldwide as of the 16th. In July 2021, when delta mutation spread, there were 200,000 corona19 confirmed cases in Korea alone.

Professor Kim Woo-joo of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Korea University Guro Hospital said, “Mutation occurs when viruses move from host to host and propagate while replicating.

However, if the current situation continues, there is a possibility that mutations will occur in the mid- to long-term.

Jeong Jae-hoon, professor of preventive medicine at Gachon University, said, “It may be difficult for mutations to progress as quickly as Corona 19, but the reason why mpox spreads from person to person is because there was a mutation within mpox. In the long run, there is a possibility of mutation. “he explained.

The key is to block the spread of the epidemic in the community. Since the first suspected domestic infection occurred on the 7th, new confirmed cases that are difficult to identify the source of infection continue to occur.

Professor Jeong said, “Because infected people are already coming out of the community, there is a possibility that it will spread enough for the next few months.”