#18,381
Eleven weeks ago the WHO declared the Mpox outbreak in Central Africa to constitute a PHEIC (Public Health Emergency of International Concern) after reports that a new clade (Ib) of the virus had begun to spread outside of the DRC (see More African Nations Reporting Mpox - Africa CDC Mpox Update (Jul 30th)).
Yesterday the UK announced their first imported case of Mpox Clade Ib in a traveler recently returned from Africa. The UK becomes the 5th non-African nation (along with India, Thailand, Sweden & Germany) to report an imported case of this emerging Mpox variant.
First the announcement, after which I'll return with a bit more on how the UK is planning to deal with cases.
UKHSA detects first case of Clade Ib mpox
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has detected a single confirmed human case of Clade Ib mpox.
From:UK Health Security Agency Published 30 October 2024
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has detected a single confirmed human case of Clade Ib mpox. The risk to the UK population remains low.
This is the first detection of this Clade of mpox in the UK. It is different from mpox Clade II that has been circulating at low levels in the UK since 2022, primarily among gay, bisexual and other men-who-have-sex-with-men (GBMSM).
UKHSA, the NHS and partner organisations have well tested capabilities to detect, contain and treat novel infectious diseases, and while this is the first confirmed case of mpox Clade Ib in the UK, there has been extensive planning underway to ensure healthcare professionals are equipped and prepared to respond to any confirmed cases.
The case was detected in London and the individual has been transferred to the Royal Free Hospital High Consequence Infectious Diseases unit. They had recently travelled to countries in Africa that are seeing community cases of Clade Ib mpox. The UKHSA and NHS will not be disclosing any further details about the individual.
Close contacts of the case are being followed up by UKHSA and partner organisations. Any contacts will be offered testing and vaccination as needed and advised on any necessary further care if they have symptoms or test positive.
UKHSA is working closely with the NHS and academic partners to determine the characteristics of the pathogen and further assess the risk to human health. While the existing evidence suggests mpox Clade Ib causes more severe disease than Clade II, we will continue to monitor and learn more about the severity, transmission and control measures. We will initially manage Clade Ib as a high consequence infectious disease (HCID) whilst we are learning more about the virus.
A) incursions and small clusters of cases,
B) a controllable epidemic, and
C) community transmission
Although the U.S. has yet to report an imported case, a little over a month ago the CDC released a HAN (Health Alert Network) advisory to clinicians (see CDC HAN #00516 - Prevention Strategies for Mpox) on how to advise patients who may be at risk of contracting Mpox, or those who may be planning to travel to countries where the virus is currently circulating.
