Monkeypox mutations making virus spread more rapidly and beat vaccines, experts warn

A new mutation in the monkeypox virus is helping it spread and bypass vaccines, experts have warned.

Researchers from Missouri University identified a more infectious strain which they said could mean having to modify existing drugs and medicines or developing new ones that account for the current mutations to increase their effectiveness at reducing the severity of the symptoms.

Senior researcher of the study, Shrikesh Sachdev, said: “The virus is getting smarter, it is able to avoid being targeted by drugs or antibodies from our body’s immune response and continue to spread to more people.”

Monkeypox has infected more than 77,000 people in more than 100 countries worldwide.

Mutations have enabled the virus to grow stronger and smarter, evading antiviral drugs and vaccines in its mission to infect more people, the scientists said.

Researchers have been analysing DNA sequences of the monkeypox virus since 1965 when the virus first started spreading, to outbreaks in the early 2000s and the latest one in 2022.

The analysis showed how the virus has evolved, and a key finding was the virus is now mutating specifically where drugs and antibodies from vaccines are supposed to bind.

The principal investigator of the study, Kamlendra Singh, has been studying virology and DNA genome replication for nearly 30 years. He said: “The DNA genome for monkeypox is converted into nearly 200 proteins, so it comes with all the ‘armour’ it needs to replicate, divide and continue to infect others.

“Viruses will make billions of copies of itself and only the fittest will survive, as the mutations help them adapt and continue to spread.”

Data from the UK Government shows there have been 3,654 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the country. Of these, 94 were in Scotland, 34 were in Northern Ireland, 46 were in Wales and 3,480 were in England.

Monkeypox is rarely fatal and has no long-term harmful effect on those who get it, with symptoms lasting from two to four weeks. The virus has flu-like symptoms that usually develop into a rash after one to four days.

The study, ‘Mutations in the monkeypox virus replication complex: Potential contributing factors to the 2022 outbreak’, was recently published in the Journal of Autoimmunity.