#18,599
The UKHSA has announced their 4th imported clade Ib Mpox case since January 20th, while at the same time announcing that they will only report cases on a weekly basis going forward.
Details on cases have grown increasingly scant in recent weeks, with this latest case simply described as: A ninth case was reported on 4 February 2025, also with a travel history to Uganda.The clade Ib Mpox virus is reportedly more virulent, and potentially more transmissible, than the clade II mpox virus which began its world tour in the spring of 2022.
Last September the UK released their Updated Mpox Technical Briefing #9 which presented 3 possible scenarios for the spread of Mpox in the UK, ranging from the least to most impactful.
The (very) brief report from the UK HSA follows:
A) incursions and small clusters of cases,
B) a controllable epidemic, and
C) community transmission
Since the we've seen 11 non-African nations report imported cases of this Mpox Ib clade; Sweden, Thailand, India, Germany, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, Canada, Pakistan, Belgium, China, and France.
Several countries, including China, Belgium, Germany, France and the UK have reported limited secondary transmission.
The (very) brief report from the UK HSA follows:
Update
From 5 February 2025 UKHSA will no longer provide updates on new clade Ib mpox cases on a case-by-case basis. Case numbers will continue to be updated weekly, on a Thursday, within this statistical release.Current confirmed cases
As of 4 February 2025, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed 9 cases of clade Ib mpox in the UK.
Cases reported by date
The first case was reported on 30 October 2024 with 3 further household contact cases confirmed. A fifth, unrelated travel-associated case was reported on 29 November 2024.
A sixth case was reported on 20 January 2025. A seventh case was reported on 27 January 2025. Both cases had a travel history to Uganda.
An eighth case was reported on 31 January 2025, the individual had a travel history to Uganda and there is no known link to any previous UK cases.
A ninth case was reported on 4 February 2025, also with a travel history to Uganda.
Methods and definitions
A confirmed mpox case is defined as a person with a laboratory-confirmed infection following a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.
Mpox surveillance data in England is based on mpox virus test results from the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL), which is the UKHSA mpox reference laboratory, and other UK laboratories with mpox testing.
Any counts of confirmed cases in Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland will be submitted to UKHSA by Public Health Wales, Public Health Agency Northern Ireland, and Public Health Scotland respectively.
