A new mpox variant was identified in four patients in the UK in the first cluster outside of Africa - News

British health officials say they have identified four new, more contagious cases mpox version which first appeared in the Congo, marking the first time the variant has caused a group of diseases outside Africa.

Scientists say the risk to the public remains low.

Authorities announced the first case of the new form of measles in the UK last week, saying the case was being treated at London hospital after a recent trip to countries in Africa with an ongoing outbreak.

This electron microscope image shows mpox virus particles, green, found inside infected cultured cells (represented in blue). (AP)

This week, the UK Health Safety Agency announced that it had now identified three more cases who lived in the same household as the first patient.

They too are now being treated in a hospital in London.

“Mpox is highly contagious in households with close contact, so it is not unexpected to see new cases within the same household,” said Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser to the UK’s Health Safety Agency.

The new mpox variant was first discovered earlier this year in eastern Congo.

Scientists believe it causes milder symptoms that are harder to notice, making it easier to spread because people may not know they are infected.

A health worker attends to a measles patient at a treatment center in Munigi, eastern Congo, the epicenter of the outbreak. (AP)

Agents stunned by discovery in used missile silo

Britain recorded more than 3,000 cases of the second type of measles during the 2022 outbreak, which affected more than 100 countries.

The new mpox variant has also caused outbreaks in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

Individual cases among travelers were also recorded in Sweden, India, Germany and Thailand.

To date, there have been approximately 43,000 suspected cases of measles in Africa, including more than 1,000 deaths, mostly in the Congo.

Related Posts

Leave a Reply Cancel reply