UK reports new Clade Ib mpox case, 4th since January

London, April 8 (IANS) A confirmed human case of Clade Ib mpox has been detected in northeast England, the fourth this year, acording to British health authorities.

According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the patient, diagnosed in March, had no known travel history or links with previously confirmed cases in Britain, Xinhua news agency reported.

All contacts have been followed up, and no further cases have been identified. The UKHSA is now working to determine how the patient caught the infection.

All previous mpox cases in Britain have either travelled to an affected country or have a link to someone who had, the UKHSA said.

The UKHSA reported the last case of Clade Ib mpox in February. The latest is the ninth case of clade Ib mpox confirmed in England since October 2024.

Clade Ia and Ib mpox will no longer be classified as high-consequence infectious diseases following a review of available evidence by the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens, the UKHSA confirmed last month.

"However, the decision should not be interpreted as Clade I mpox no longer being of any public health consequence," the agency said.

The disease is still a public health emergency of international concern as defined by the World Health Organization. Yet the “risk to the UK population from mpox remains low,” said Dr Gillian Armstrong, UKHSA Mpox Incident Director.

“The majority of people who have presented with symptoms report close physical contact, including massages, or sex prior to developing symptoms,” Armstrong added.

Common symptoms of mpox include a skin rash or pus-filled lesions which can last two to four weeks. It can also cause fever, headaches, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes.

Armstrong stated that regardless of travel history, people with the symptoms should get medical help immediately.

Mpox is a viral disease identified as fever, rash, and lymphadenopathy -- a condition that causes lymph nodes to swell or become abnormally shaped or sized.

While it is a self-limiting disease and the mpox infection is mild for many, it can be severe for some, Armstrong noted.

--IANS

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