CHICAGO, Oct 10 (Reuters) - U.S. health officials have identified a cluster of cases caused by an mpox variant that are resistant to Siga Technologies'
, opens new taantiviral tecovirimat, branded as TPOXX, in five U.S. states, federal and state researchers reported on Thursday.
The cases involved a total of 18 individuals infected with clade II mpox between Oct. 6, 2023, and Feb. 15, 2024, who had never taken the treatment before, according to the report published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Clade II mpox cases, which are endemic to West Africa, sparked a global outbreak in 2022 that prompted the World Health Organization to declare a public health emergency, and cases continue to spread at low levels in some countries.