Another case of the deadly new strain of mpox has been detected in the UK, health officials confirmed today.
The clade 1b mutation, which experts have called “the most dangerous yet,” kills one in ten infected and is believed to be behind a wave of miscarriages.
The total number of confirmed cases in Britain stands at four. All are household contacts of the first case.
Authorities do not yet know how the first unidentified patient became infected with the strain, although skin-to-skin contact is suspected.
They had traveled back to the UK from a holiday in Africa on a red-eye flight on October 21 before developing symptoms a day later.
The latest patient is under specialist care at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London.
However, health chiefs say they still consider the threat clade 1b poses to the public to be “low”.
The total number of confirmed cases in Britain stands at four. All are household contacts of the first case.
The latest patient is under specialist care at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London.
Single-dose vials of the Jynneos vaccine for mpox are seen from a cooler at a vaccination site in Brooklyn, New York, on August 29, 2022, as the disease sweeps the United States.
Professor Susan Hopkins, UKHSA chief medical adviser, said: “Mpoxpox is highly infectious in households with close contact and therefore it is not unexpected to see more cases within the same household.
‘The overall risk to the UK population remains low.
“We are working with partners to ensure all contacts of cases are identified and contacted to reduce the risk of further spread.”
The UKHSA said all contacts will be offered testing and vaccinations as necessary and will be informed of any further care needed if they have symptoms or test positive.
The first case was detected after the unidentified patient developed flu-like symptoms 24 hours later, followed by a rash, and went to A&E on October 27, where he was tested for mox.
They were then moved to a high-level isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in north London, the same facility where imported Ebola cases were treated in 2015.
On Monday, an official confirmed that two more patients were being treated with the strain at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
In May 2022, a global outbreak of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, began in Africa.
But the latest Clade 1b strain is considered much deadlier.
It has spread across central Africa killing at least 1,000 people since the outbreak began.
Countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been especially affected and cases have also been detected in Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya.
However, experts say Central Africa’s clade 1b mortality rates are unlikely to be replicated in developed countries such as the UK due to better access to higher quality healthcare.
Britain’s four cases mean it joins countries such as Sweden, Thailand, India and Germany in having cases outside Africa.
In July, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an ongoing mox outbreak in several Central African nations a “public health emergency of international concern.”
This is the same designation that the WHO gave to Covid in late January 2020, just weeks before the virus swept the world, and some scientists have compared the current outbreak to the “early days of HIV.”
Mpox causes characteristic lumpy lesions, as well as fever, pain, and fatigue.
It is a far cry from the 2022 outbreak, where thousands of cases were recorded, mainly in London.
A woman cares for her baby who suffers from a severe form of mpox in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
However, in a small number of cases, it can enter the blood and lungs, as well as other parts of the body, when it is life-threatening.
The current mpox vaccines, which are designed to act against smallpox, a close relative of the mpox virus, were used during the 2022 outbreak against the milder strain.
But they have yet to be extensively tested against the most potent clade 1b strain.
The WHO and NHS recommend getting vaccinated within four days of contact with someone who has the virus or within 14 days if there are no symptoms.
It is recommended that healthcare workers and men who have sex with men receive the vaccine even if they have not been exposed to mpox.
There are no direct treatments available with doctors who focus rather on helping the patient help their body fight the virus.
Last week, Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said the Government was working with UKHSA and the NHS “to protect the public and prevent transmission”.
He added: “This includes securing vaccines and equipping healthcare professionals with the guidance and tools they need to respond to cases safely.”
“We are also working with our international partners to help affected countries prevent new outbreaks.”