First case of new Mpox variant in UK, health authorities say
A patient infected with MPOX virus is photographed at Kavumu Hospital, Democratic Republic of the Congo, August 24, 2024.
Glody Murhabazi
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The United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced this Wednesday the first case of a new variant of the MPox virus, originally known as monkeypox, which has caused a major epidemic in Africa.
“The UKHSA has now identified one confirmed human case of mpox clade 1b,” as the new variant is called, the UK Health Security Agency wrote in a statement, adding that “the risk to the public is low.”
“This is the first detection of this type of mpox in the UK. It is distinct from clade 2 mpox, which has been circulating at low levels in the UK since 2022, mainly among gay and bisexual people,” the UKHSA said.
The case was identified in London and the person admitted to the hospital “had recently traveled to African countries where mpox clade 1b cases are observed,” the agency added.
On October 22, a case of infection with this new variant was detected in Germany, after which another one also appeared in Sweden and several Asian countries.
“All contacts of this person will be offered testing and vaccination if appropriate, and will be informed of the further care that should be provided if they develop symptoms or test positive,” the UKHSA explained.
The agency added that it is “working closely” with the United Kingdom’s Public Health Service (NHS) “to determine the characteristics of the pathogen and further assess the risk to human health.”
Mpox is a virus that is transmitted from animals to humans and between humans and causes fever, muscle pain and skin lesions.
Within months, a new epidemic swept across Africa, with the highest rates of infection observed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi and Nigeria.