Another case of potentially deadly mpox strain detected in UK

A fifth case of a potentially deadly mpox strain has been detected in the UK.

The Clade lb strain of the virus has been detected in a patient in Leeds after they recently returned back to England from Uganda which is seeing community transmission of mpox, the UK Health Security Agency said.

The individual is now under specialist care at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The UKHSA has said that the risk to the UK population currently remains low.

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The latest case is the fifth of Clade Ib mpox confirmed in England in recent weeks - and there is no link to the previous cases identified.

All previous patients who had been identified in England with the strain have made a full recovery.

Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at UKHSA, said: "It is thanks to clinicians rapidly recognising the symptoms and our diagnostics tests that we have been able to detect this new case.

"The risk to the UK population remains low following this fifth case, and we are working rapidly to trace close contacts and reduce the risk of any potential spread. In accordance with established protocols, investigations are underway to learn how the individual acquired the infection and to assess whether there are any further associated cases."

Clade Ib mpox has been widely circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya in recent months. Imported cases have been detected in Canada, Sweden, India, Thailand and Germany.

Mpox spreads between through direct contact with rash, skin lesions or scabs caused by the virus, including during sexual contact, kissing, cuddling or other skin-to-skin contact.

There is also a risk from contact with bodily fluids such as saliva or snot; contact with bedding or towels or clothing; and a possibility of spread through close and prolonged face-to-face contact such as talking, breathing, coughing, or sneezing.

Symptoms include skin rash with blisters, spots or ulcers that can appear anywhere on the body, fever, headache, backache and muscle aches.

A rash usually appears one to five days after a fever, headache and other symptoms.

A report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said there had been more than 40,000 mpox cases linked to almost 1,000 deaths in Africa as of the end of September 2024, with Clades Ia, Ib and II circulating in the region.