Monday, November 04, 2024

UKHSA Reports 2 Household Contacts of Imported Mpox Clade Ib Case Test Positive


#18,392

Last week the UK became the 5th non-African nation - along with along with India, Thailand, Sweden & Germany - to report an imported clade Ib Mpox case in a traveler recently returned from Africa (see UKHSA Reports 1st Imported Case of Mpox Clade Ib In the UK).

In the UK, the recently emerged clade Ib Mpox virus (unlike the milder clade II) is considered a high consequence infectious disease (HCID), which they define as:

  • an acute infectious disease
  • typically having a high case-fatality rate
  • not always having effective prophylaxis or treatment
  • often difficult to recognise and detect rapidly
  • able to spread in the community and within healthcare settings
  • requiring an enhanced individual, population and system response to ensure it is managed effectively, efficiently and safely

Today the UK's Health Security Agency is reporting that two household contacts of this index case have now tested positive for the virus.  Their very brief statement follows:
Latest update on cases of Clade Ib mpox

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirms 2 additional cases of Clade Ib mpox.
From:UK Health Security Agency Last updated 4 November 2024
Two cases of Clade Ib mpox have been detected in household contacts of the first case, the UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) can confirm. This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 3.

The 2 patients are currently under specialist care at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London. The risk to the UK population remains low.

There has been extensive planning underway to ensure healthcare professionals are equipped and prepared to respond to any further confirmed cases.

Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at UKHSA, said:
Mpox is very infectious in households with close contact and so it is not unexpected to see further cases within the same household.
The overall risk to the UK population remains low. We are working with partners to make sure all contacts of the cases are identified and contacted to reduce the risk of further spread.

Contacts of all 3 cases are being followed up by UKHSA and partner organisations. All contacts will be offered testing and vaccination as needed and advised on any necessary further care if they have symptoms or test positive.
(Continue . . . )

The Mpox virus continues to evolve, and we now have at least 4 clades of Mpox in circulation (I, Ib, II, IIb), with Clades I and Ib considered the most severe.
As they spread from host-to-host, additional evolutionary changes seem likely (see Evolution of monkeypox virus from 2017 to 2022: In the light of point mutations).

With the end of smallpox vaccinations more than 40 years ago, much of the world's population has little or no immunity to these types of viruses. Smallpox virus may be gone, but the orthopoxvirus family tree contains dozens of branches, including Mpox viruses.

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