Another case of the new mpox strain detected in Britain, four people in total

Since the end of last month, four cases of the new mpox strain have been identified in the UK. Image courtesy of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/CDC/Release

Nov. 6 (UPI)— Another case of a new strain of smallpox has been discovered in the UK, bringing the total number of infections in the country to four.

All cases are from the same household, British health officials said on Wednesday, reiterating that the risk to the public remains low.

“We are working with partners to ensure that all contacts of cases are identified and contacted to reduce the risk of further spread,” said Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UK Health Security Agency. statement.

The UK confirmed its first case of Clade Ib late last month, saying the patient had recently traveled to African countries while observing the spread of the disease through the population.

Two additional cases were identified earlier this week in the first patient’s family, marking the first cases of locally transmitted Clade Ib virus in Europe, according to the World Health Organization.

British health officials said the case announced on Wednesday has been isolated since it was identified as a contact of the first case and no additional contact tracing is required.

Mpox, formerly known as Monkeypox, is a viral disease transmitted by close contact with an infected person that can be fatal.

In 2022, there was an outbreak of mpox in the UK. As of July of the same year, it was registered 1,517 confirmed cases of virus infectionHowever, a significant proportion of those infected are London residents, mostly men who have sex with other men.

Clade Ib is a different strain from the strain responsible for the UK outbreak and was first reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo last year. It has since spread to non-endemic countries including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

On Sunday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that year there were 49,310 suspected cases of smallpox reported on the continent, of which more than 10,600 were confirmed. A total of 1,059 deaths have been reported from the virus. It did not distinguish between different strains of the virus.

Most confirmed cases and deaths have occurred in the DRC.

Cases of Clade Ib have also been diagnosed in Thailand, Sweden and Germany.

In a statement on Tuesday, WHO said that while the risk of transmission in the UK is low, local spread of the virus should encourage health systems across the region to prepare to quickly trace the contacts of suspected and confirmed cases.

“I commend the UK for its swift action to identify and control this cluster, with clear and transparent communication to ensure timely reporting and data sharing,” Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, said in the report. statement.

“I once again call on all 53 Member States of the WHO European Region to follow WHO’s ongoing recommendations and strengthen surveillance to detect clades I and II, provide robust public health advice, and expand access to vaccines and antivirals.”

In mid-September, the UK purchased more than 150,000 doses of smallpox vaccine to deal with potential cases of type Ib disease.