The eight signs of mpox to spot as new case of deadly strain detected in England and close contacts chased
A NEW case of the mutant strain of mpox has been detected in England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has announced.
The new infection was detected in East Sussex and brings the number of confirmed cases of the virus in the UK, identified as clade 1b, to six.
Despite the rise in infections since October, health chiefs insist the risk to the UK population "remains low".
The new case is unrelated to previous ones, most of which were traced to a single household in London.
Officials don't yet know how the new person became infected with the strain.
However, they had recently returned from Uganda, where the disease is currently spreading,
The agency and partner organisations are following up close contacts of the infected person, it said on Monday.
The new mpox variant differs from those circulating in the UK since 2022, appearing to be more contagious while remaining equally deadly.
The infected patient has since been moved to the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, where they are receiving specialist care.
Dr Meera Chand, from the UKHSA, said: "It is thanks to clinicians rapidly recognising the symptoms and the work of our specialist laboratory that we have been able to detect this new case.
“The risk to the UK population remains low following this sixth case, and we are working rapidly to trace close contacts and reduce the risk of any potential spread.”
The UK reported its first case of the new strain in late October.
Germany also reported its first case in October, following Sweden’s 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.
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.
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".
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"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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