UK confirms 8th mpox case since last October

LONDON

Britain has reported another confirmed case of the clade Ib variant of mpox, bringing the total number since last October to eight, health authorities said on Friday.

The UK Health Security Agency confirmed that a new case of clade Ib mpox has been detected in London and the individual is now under specialist care at the Royal Free Hospital High Consequence Infectious Diseases unit.

"They had recently returned from Uganda, where there is currently community transmission of clade Ib mpox," the agency said in a statement.

Reiterating that the risk to the UK population remains low, it noted however that they expect to see the occasional imported case of the variant strain.

The new case comes after the agency reported the seventh case a few days ago.

"The risk to the UK population remains low. Close contacts have been identified and offered appropriate advice in order to reduce the chance of further spread,” said Merav Kliner, the agency’s incident director.

Mpox, caused by a virus in the same family as smallpox, is characterized by high fever and skin lesions known as vesicles. In 2022, outbreaks were triggered in more than 70 countries across the world.

Last August the World Health Organization declared the disease a public health emergency of international concern.

The Democratic Republic of Congo remains the worst-hit country, with a vast majority of more than 49,000 suspected cases and 1,100 deaths confirmed in the continent since January 2024.