MPox spreads: 8th case of deadly new strain detected in UK – what you need to know to stay safe

Another case of the new deadly mpox strain has been detected in the UK, health officials confirmed today. 

The clade 1b mutation, which experts have called ‘the most dangerous one so far’ kills one in ten of those infected and is believed to be behind a wave of miscarriages in Africa, where it emerged.

The latest diagnosis takes the total number of confirmed cases in Britain now to eight. The UK, however, has not recorded any deaths. 

The unidentified patient, from London, had no links to the previous seven cases. Officials don’t yet know how they became infected with the strain.

But the individual had ‘recently’ travelled back to the UK from Uganda, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said. 

Health chiefs rushed to reassure the public about the threat clade 1b poses.

Professor Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at UKHSA, said: ‘The risk to the UK population remains low. 

‘Close contacts have been identified and offered appropriate advice in order to reduce the chance of further spread.’ 

The patient is now being treated in the high-level isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in North London  — the same facility where imported cases of Ebola were treated in 2015. 

Contacts of the case will also be offered testing and vaccination where needed, officials also said.  

The UK’s first mpox case was detected after the individual developed flu-like symptoms, followed by a rash and attended A&E on October 27 where they were tested. 

They were then also transferred to the high-level isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in North London. 

In November, officials confirmed a further four patients were being treated at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with the strain. 

Earlier this month, a sixth case — which had no previous links to the other cases — was also detected in East Sussex. 

They had also recently returned from Uganda and officials said they were now under specialist care at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. 

Then on Monday, officials did not disclose where the seventh case was being treated. 

A global outbreak of mpox, previously known as monkeypox, began in Africa in May 2022.

But the latest Clade 1b strain is considered far deadlier. 

It has swept through central Africa killing at least 1,000 people, since the outbreak began. 

Countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo have been hit especially hard with cases also spotted in Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya.

However, experts say fatality rates of clade 1b from central Africa are unlikely to be replicated in developed nations like the UK due to better access to higher quality healthcare. 

Britain’s cases means it joins countries including the US, Sweden, Thailand, India and Germany in having cases outside of Africa. 

In July, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an ongoing mpox outbreak across several central African nations as a ‘public health emergency of international concern’.

This is the same designation the WHO gave Covid in late January 2020, just a few weeks before the virus ripped across the world.

Mpox causes characteristic lumpy lesions, as well as a fever, aches and pains and fatigue.

However, in a small number of cases, it can enter the blood and lungs, as well as other parts of the body, when it becomes life-threatening.

Current mpox vaccines, which are designed to work on smallpox a close relative of the mpox virus, were used during the 2022 outbreak against the milder strain.

But they have yet to be widely tested against the more potent clade 1b strain.

The WHO and the NHS recommends a vaccine within four days of contact with someone who has the virus or within up to 14 days if there are no symptoms.

Healthcare workers and men who have sex with men are advised to receive a vaccine even if they have had no mpox exposure.

There are no direct treatments available with medics focused instead on supporting a patient to help their body fight off the virus.