Two additional cases of new mpox strain diagnosed in Britain

Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Two additional cases of a new strain of mpox have been detected in Britain, national health officials said Monday, less than a week after the first case was announced to the public.

The two new cases are household contacts of the first case, an unidentified person who had recently traveled to African nations, which have been experiencing community spread of the Clade Ib mpox strain.

The two new patients are receiving specialized care at Guy's and St. Thomas' National Health Service Foundation Trust in London, the UK Health Security Agency said, while informing the public that risk to the general population remains low.

"Mpox is very infectious in households with close contact and so it is not unexpected to see further cases within the same household," Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at UKHSA, said in a statement.

"We are working with partners to make sure all contacts of the cases are identified and contacted to reduce the risk of further spread."

With the confirmation, Britain now has three confirmed cases of the Clade Ib mpox strain, which is not the same virus responsible for Britain's mpox outbreak of 2022. As of July of that year, there were 1,517 confirmed cases, with a high proportion of those infected being London residents, primarily men who had had sex with other men.

This new strain was first reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo last year, and has since spread to nonendemic countries, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

According to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been 45,674 suspected cases of mpox throughout the continent this year, though fewer than 9,300 cases have been confirmed. There have also been 1,014 related deaths.

Cases have also been diagnosed in Thailand, Sweden and Germany.

In mid-September, Britain purchased more than 150,000 doses of mpox vaccine from Bavarian Nordic in preparation for possible Clade Ib mpox cases.