CDC updates mpox alert amid expansion in African outbreaks

News brief

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday sent a Health Alert Network (HAN) update to clinicians, urging them to remain on alert for mpox in people who have recently visited the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or any of eight border countries, some of which have reported recent cases linked to an ongoing large outbreak in the DRC.

The HAN update, the first since December 2023, came the same day the World Health Organization (WHO) announced plans to convene an emergency committee to assess if outbreaks in Africa, some involving a novel clade 1 virus, warrant a public health emergency of international concern.

So far, no infections involving clade 1 have been reported outside eastern and central Africa, the CDC said. However, due to the risk of additional spread, clinicians should have a heightened index of suspicion for people who have been in the region, and present with rash and other symptoms, such as fever, chills, and fatigue. Clade 1 is endemic in parts of Africa and is different than the clade 2 virus circulating globally, primarily in men who have sex with men.

Risk of imported cases remains very low

The CDC said the risk of imported clade 1 mpox cases in very low, due to a limited number of direct commercial flights to the United States from the DRC and neighboring countries. It added that the United States has robust mpox testing capacity, including clade-specific methods, and that the CDC continues to sequence a subset of samples to look for mutations. Also, the group said to provide early warning it continues to support community wastewater testing for both clades, including sites around select airports.

CDC reports more cases and another death in deli meat Listeria outbreak

News brief

Lisa Schnirring

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today reported 9 more illnesses and 1 more death in a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak linked to certain meats sliced at delis, raising the national total to 43 infections, 3 of them fatal. The number of affected stated remained the same, at 13.

The latest death occurred in a patient from Virginia. All patients identified as part of the outbreak have been hospitalized. Of 34 people who were interviewed about the foods they ate before they got sick, 32 reported eating deli meats. Of 33 people who were asked about exposure to liverwurst, 18 said they had eaten sliced liverwurst before they became ill, of which 13 had consumed the Boar's Head brand. The deli meats were sliced at supermarket and grocery store delis.

Second state IDs Listeria in product sample

Maryland and Baltimore health officials had previously identified Listeria in an unopened Boar's Head liverwurst sample. In its update, the CDC said New York's lab testing has also identified Listeria in an unopened Boar's Head liverwurst sample.

It added that whole-genome sequencing has determined the Listeria from both samples is the same strain making people sick.

Sequencing links strain to outbreak

On July 26, Boar's Head recalled liverwurst and other deli meat made on the same production line, owin to possible Listeria contamination. On July 30 it expanded the recall to include about 7 million pounds of its ready-to-eat meat and poultry products.

The recall covers 71 products made under the Boar's Head and Old County brands, which mainly include products meant for slicing at delis, but also some packaged items sold at retail stores. The products were distributed nationally, with some exported to the Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Panama.