Britain identifies its first case of new mpox variant

London: Britain has detected its first case of new mpox variant clade Ib, the country's health security agency (UKHSA) said on Wednesday, adding that the risk to the population remained low.

The clade Ib variant is a new form of the virus that was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization in August, after an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo spread to neighbouring countries in Africa.

The case, in a patient who had recently travelled to affected countries in Africa, was detected in London and the individual has been transferred to a specialist hospital, the UKHSA said.

Close contacts of the case are being followed up by UKHSA and partner organisations, the UKHSA added.

There have been cases of mpox clade Ib reported in Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Sweden, India and Germany, as well as Congo. It is a different form of the virus from clade II, which spread globally in 2022, largely among men who have sex with men.

Mpox is a viral infection that typically causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions, and while usually mild it can kill.