
Brazil has reported its first clade 1b mpox case, per a notice from the national Health Ministry.
According to media reports, the patient is a 29 year-old woman from Sao Paulo, whose relative had recently returned from travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Currently the DRC is in the middle of a large mpox outbreak, with thousands of cases caused by clade 1b, a more transmissible strain of the virus.
So far this year Brazil has reported 52 cases of mpox, but all were clade 2, the strain that caused a global outbreak of the virus in 2022 and 2023, primarily among men who have sex with men.
Health Ministry officials said there are no other clade 1b cases in Brazil at this time.
Grant for single-dose vaccine
In related news, Tonix Pharmaceuticals today announced that it has received a US Department of Defense grant to support the development of a single-dose vaccine against mpox and smallpox. A grant from the Medical CBRN Defense Consortium will support the development of TNX-801, a recombinant live horsepox virus vaccine.
"TNX-801 offers an appealing target product profile, requiring just a single dose for durable, long-term protection, with favorable shipping and storage requirements. With a significant global unmet need, TNX-801 is in a strong position to make a potential impact towards preventing mpox and controlling mpox epidemics," said Seth Lederman, MD, the president and CEO of Tonix, in a press release from the company.
The vaccine has performed well in animal challenges with mpox clade 1 infections, the company said.