A new mpox variant case has emerged in the UK, raising concerns among health officials
London: A new case of the Clade 1B mpox virus has popped up in the UK. This variant is considered more dangerous than previous strains.
The UK Health Security Agency confirmed this is the sixth case since last October. The patient is currently getting care at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust.
This particular case was found in East Sussex, and the person had just returned from Uganda. It seems there’s some community transmission of this variant in parts of central Africa.
Experts are saying that Clade 1B is linked to more severe illness and higher death rates compared to the strain that caused the global outbreak in 2022.
However, the UKHSA reassured everyone that the risk to the public remains low. Dr. Meera Chand from UKHSA mentioned that quick recognition of symptoms helped in detecting this case.
She added that they’re working fast to trace close contacts to prevent any potential spread. Clade 1B has been seen in several African countries recently.
There have also been imported cases in places like Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, and the United States.
Mpox is a viral disease from the orthopoxvirus family, which includes the smallpox virus. While it mainly spreads from animals to humans, it can also be transmitted between people through close contact.
This virus really caught the world’s attention in 2022 when it started spreading to countries that usually don’t see it, like those in Europe and North America.
