By Ayo Kehinde
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has detected a single confirmed human case of Clade Ib Mpox.
This is the first detection of this Clade of mpox in the UK. It is different from Mpox Clade II that has been circulating at low levels in the UK since 2022, primarily among gay, bisexual and other men-who-have-sex-with-men (GBMSM).
A statement by the UKHSA, said, the case was detected in London and the individual has been transferred to the Royal Free Hospital High Consequence Infectious Diseases unit.
According to the report, the patient had recently been on holiday in at least one of the affected countries in Africa and began to feel sick 24 hours after flying home. The patient developed flu-like symptoms on 22 October and a rash two days later.
The statement informed that “Close contacts of the case are being followed up by UKHSA and partner organisations. Any contacts will be offered testing and vaccination as needed and advised on any necessary further care if they have symptoms or test positive. Since Mpox first became present in England, local services have pulled out all the stops to vaccinate those eligible, with tens of thousands in priority groups have already come forward to get protected while the risk of catching mpox in the UK remains low, if required the NHS has plans in place to expand the roll-out of vaccines quickly in line with supply.
“Clade Ib mpox has been widely circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in recent months and there have been cases reported in Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Sweden, India and Germany.
Clade Ib mpox was detected by UKHSA using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing.
Common symptoms of mpox include a skin rash or pus-filled lesions which can last 2 to 4 weeks. It can also cause fever, headaches, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes.
“The infection can be passed on through close person-to-person contact with someone who has the infection or with infected animals and through contact with contaminated materials. Anyone with symptoms should continue to avoid contact with other people while symptoms persist.”
