LONDON (dpa-AFX) - The United Kingdom has reported its first human case of Clade Ib mpox, a new strain that is being widespread in Africa.
The existing evidence suggests mpox Clade Ib causes more severe disease than Clade II, which has been circulating at low levels in the UK since 2022, primarily among
gay, bisexual and other men-who-have-sex-with-men, or GBMSM.
Announcing this, the UK Health Security Agency said the risk to the UK population from a single confirmed human case of Clade Ib mpox remains low.
UKHSA, the NHS and partner organisations have well tested capabilities to detect, contain and treat novel infectious diseases, and there has been extensive planning
underway to ensure healthcare professionals are equipped and prepared to respond to any confirmed cases, iut said in a press release.
The case was detected in London and the person who got infected has been transferred to the Royal Free Hospital High Consequence Infectious Diseases unit. The patient
had recently travelled to countries in Africa that are seeing community cases of Clade Ib mpox. The UKHSA and NHS did not disclose any further details about the individual.
Close contacts of the case are being followed up by UKHSA and partner organisations.
UKHSA said it will initially manage Clade Ib as a high consequence infectious disease (HCID) whilst learning more about the virus.
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