Eighth case of deadly mpox strain detected in UK as 12 new vaccination sites opened and Brits told to ‘come forward’
A NEW case of the mutant mpox strain has been detected in England, the UK Health Security Agency has announced.
An unnamed person in London is the eighth case of the clade 1b variant in the country, after the first back in autumn.
They are being treated at a specialist care facility at the Royal Free Hospital High Consequence Infectious Diseases unit.
It comes as the NHS steps up efforts to protect Brits from the virus, by opening 12 new mpox vaccination sites across England.
From this week onward, people in every region will now have access to the vaccine, aimed at those most at risk of contracting the infection
Previously, the jab was only available to eligible individuals in London, Manchester, and Brighton.
Read more on mpox
Despite the rise in infections since October 2024, health chiefs insist the risk to the UK population "remains low".
They had recently returned from Uganda, where the disease is more widespread.
UKHSA officials are testing and offering vaccination to their close contacts.
The agency’s Dr Meera Chand said: "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."
The new mpox variant appears to be more contagious than the one that caused a UK outbreak in 2022.
Britain’s first case of the new strain was found in late October and there have been patients in London, Leeds and East Sussex.
Germany also reported its first case in October, following Sweden’s first case in August.
Belgium reported two cases in December 2024, and France a single case this month.
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.
There have been cases reported in Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and India.
Since then, it has infected more than 25,000 people and is responsible for more than 1,000 deaths.
Mpox symptoms - and those easily missed
Pharmacist at Chemist Click, Abbas Kanani, has shared with The Sun the symptoms of mpox to look out for.
- High temperature
- Headache
- Muscle aches
- Backache
- Swollen glands
- Shivering
- Exhaustion
- Joint pain
- Anal bleeding
Mr Kanani said: “Around one to five days after the first symptoms, a rash on the face usually appears.
“Its appearance of raised spots and small blisters filled with fluid can be mistaken for chickenpox and tends to spread to other parts of the body including genitals, anus and mouth.
“Anal bleeding and pain may also be experienced.”
The most common symptom, according to Mr Kanani, is typically the skin rash which can last two to four weeks.
He said for some people the first symptom may be a rash, while others may have different symptoms first.
But one symptom commonly missed, Kanani warned, is swollen glands or lymph nodes.
He explained: “Swollen glands or lymph nodes can be commonly mistaken for other causes and are not always obvious, particularly if there is mild swelling or it is deep in the body.
“Also, this symptom can be missed because the rash tends to be the most prominent symptom of mpox.”
This prompted the World Health Organisation (WHO) to name the increasing spread of the disease a global health emergency for the second time in two years.
Mpox mostly spreads via close contact with infected people, including through sex.
Common symptoms include a skin rash or pus-filled lesions which can last two to four weeks.
It also can cause fever, headaches, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes.
Most cases are mild but it can be deadly.
Professor Jonathan Ball, of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, previously said the new UK cases were not "not unexpected".
"There are active human-to-human transmission chains of Clade 1b monkeypox infections in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and therefore people coming into close contact with anyone infected is at risk."
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The clade 1b strain of mpox was discovered by scientists earlier this year, who traced it to a Congolese mining town.
Scientists from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) declared a public health emergency over the new strain in August.