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British health officials have identified four cases of a new, more infectious mpox variant that first emerged in Congo, marking the first known cluster of this variant outside Africa. However, scientists assess the risk to the general public as low.
The first case in the UK was announced last week, involving a patient being treated in a London hospital following recent travel to African countries experiencing mpox outbreaks. This week, the UK Health Security Agency confirmed three additional cases within the same household as the initial patient, who are also receiving treatment in London.
“Mpox spreads readily in households with close contact, so further cases in the same household are not unexpected,” said Dr. Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Advisor at the UK Health Security Agency.
This mpox variant, first detected in eastern Congo earlier this year, is believed to cause milder, subtler symptoms, potentially allowing it to spread unnoticed. The variant’s spread in Congo and other parts of Africa led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a global health emergency in August.
During a separate mpox outbreak in 2022, the UK recorded over 3,000 cases of a different variant, part of an outbreak affecting over 100 countries.
The new mpox variant has also sparked outbreaks in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, with single cases reported in travelers to Sweden, India, Germany, and Thailand.
So far, Africa has recorded around 43,000 suspected mpox cases and over 1,000 deaths, mainly in Congo. This week, WHO announced it had allocated nearly 900,000 vaccine doses to nine African countries battling mpox epidemics.
