First case of new killer mpox strain detected in UK – as officials isolate patient and race to trace contacts
THE UK has reported its first case of a new potentially more contagious strain of mpox.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said a single case of the mpox virus variant clade 1b was detected in London.
The unnamed patient, who tested positive for the mutant virus yesterday (October 29), is believed to have caught the bug in an African country affected by the outbreak.
The new variant is different from the ones that have been circulating in the UK since 2022, and is thought to cause more severe disease.
The infected patient has since been transferred to the Royal Free Hospital High Consequence Infectious Diseases unit, where imported cases of Ebola have been treated in the past.
Health officials are now racing to find close contacts of the person, who landed back in the UK on an overnight flight on October 21.
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However, there are thought to be fewer than ten direct contacts, and the risk to the wider population "remains low", Professor Susan Hopkins, said.
It marks the first detection of this strain of mpox in the UK.
Germany reported its first Clade 1b case earlier this month, after Sweden, reported its first case in August.
Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is a viral infection that causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions.
The new clade 1b variant started spreading rapidly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DCR) last year.
At least 1,000 deaths from the strain had been reported across Africa at that time.
This prompted the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare the increasing spread of the disease a global health emergency for the second time in two years.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS said they will study the patient to better understand the new strain of mpox and “learn more about severity, transmission, and control measures,” the agency said in a statement.
Wes Streeting, the health and social care secretary said: “The overall risk to the UK population currently remains low and the government is working alongside UKHSA and the NHS to protect the public and prevent transmission.
“This includes securing vaccines and equipping healthcare professionals with the guidance and tools they need to respond to cases safely.”
The UKHSA says it will not reveal any more information about the patient, but confirmed they had travelled to countries in Africa “that are seeing community cases of Clade 1b mpox.”
Who can get the mpox vaccine?
The NHS is offering the smallpox (MVA) vaccine to people who are most likely to be exposed to mpox.
People who are most likely to be exposed include:
- Gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men (GBMSM)
- Some health workers that work on infectious disease inpatient units and sexual health services
- Some health and aid workers travel to affected countries to work within mpox response or sites with active outbreaks
- Close contacts of confirmed cases
The NHS mpox outbreak vaccination programme is currently only available in London and Greater Manchester, to people who live or travel to have sex there.
Healthcare workers will usually be offered two doses of the vaccine.
Men who are gay, bisexual or have sex with other men will be offered 2 doses of the vaccine. The 2nd dose will be offered from 2 to 3 months after the 1st dose.
Your local NHS services will contact you when you can get your 2nd dose.