Major UK Mpox warning as seventh case present in Britain prompts replace from well being chiefs

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed the seventh case of the more severe clade Ib Mpox in England since October 2024, as a health chief issued a major update

Britain has confirmed another case of the Mpox virus, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). The seventh case of the more severe clade Ib Mpox was reported in England since October 2024.

Previously known as monkeypox, the virus causes flu-like symptoms, rashes or blisters and can be contracted through physical contact. Notably, it used to be transmitted almost exclusively through sexual contact, but a new strain is now contagious via close breathing proximity.

Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at UKHSA, remarked: “The risk to the UK population remains low. Close contacts have been identified and offered appropriate advice in order to reduce the chance of further spread.”

Mpox is typically contracted through close physical contact and is divided into two main types: clade I and clade II. The latter has been known in the UK for over two years following a significant outbreak identified in spring 2022.

Following that outbreak, a vaccination programme was launched in the summer and concluded the next July, reports the Mirror.

The vaccine has seen over 50,000 individuals receiving both doses, which is touted to prevent mpox cases with an 80% efficacy, while upwards of 83,000 have had one dose.

Clade I mpox, considered more severe, saw its first European case emerge in Sweden during the summer. The recent UK case involved a person who returned from Uganda, where a current outbreak is unfolding.

Since July 2024, Uganda has documented some 2,209 confirmed mpox infections and 13 fatalities.

Over the summer, UK officials held a crisis meeting to address the Mpox threat with key figures like ministers and England’s chief medical officer Sir Chris Whitty. Since the WHO labelled Mpox a global hazard, Britain has been amassing stocks of new vaccines targeting the virus.

The virus surfaced in west Africa, with clade 2 causing the widespread outbreak in 2022, resulting in some 100,000 cases worldwide, mainly affecting gay men. Clade 1 has been present in the Democratic Republic of Congo for ages.

Now, an international form of clade 1, more infectious and potentially more severe than clade 2, is causing concern amongst infectious disease pros over its potential spread. Historically, clade I outbreaks have been more fatal than those of clade 2, with up to a 10% fatality rate among the infected.

During the warmer months, Prof Paul Hunter from the University of East Anglia and a top UK infectious disease expert remarked: “Early symptoms of Mpox are indistinguishable for a range of other infections. Early on it is not possible to be able to know whether any fever is Mpox, flu or whatever.”

Furthermore, he opined: “You cannot rely on people being honest about possible exposures when travelling home [from abroad] in case it prevents their travel plans. Clearly if someone has an obvious Mpox rash, they should be prevented from boarding a plane or on arrival referred to the airport nurse, but this will not stop the international spread.”

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