There was no evidence of community transmission from the patient, who is being treated at the Royal Free Hospital in London.
The person involved had been on holiday in Africa and travelled back to the UK on an overnight flight on 21 October.
More than 24 hours later, the person developed flu-like symptoms and on 24 October, started to develop a rash which got worse in the following days. It was later discovered October 27 that the person had contracted Mpox.
About 10 direct contacts are being traced after the discovery, and Professor Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at UKHSA, said 'the risk to the UK population remains low, it is thanks to our surveillance that we have been able to detect this virus," she said.
This is the first time Clade 1b has been detected in the UK. Germany reported its first Clade 1b case earlier this month.
Over 1,000 deaths from the strain have been reported across Africa prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the increasing spread of the disease a global health emergency for the second time in two years.
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.
Mpox, and the Clade 1b strain is usually passed on by close physical contact, contact with infected animals or sexual transmission. Professor Hopkins said there was no evidence of a transpiration route of infection.
Clade Ib Mpox has been widely circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo in recent months and there have also been cases reported in neighboring countries.
Sam K Nkurunziza
Source : https://en.igihe.com/news/article/first-case-of-contagious-mpox-strain-detected-in-london
