UK Confirms Two Cases of New Mpox Strain in Europe’s First Household Transmission

UK Confirms Two Cases of New Mpox Strain in Europe's First Household Transmission
UK Confirms Two Cases of New Mpox Strain in Europe's First Household Transmission

The emergence of Clade Ib has been admitted by the authorities in the United Kingdom for the first time even though Household Cluster transmission has previously been reported in England. This makes the number of confirmed Clade Ib cases in the UK three. The individuals in question are members of the same family as one who returned from a number of African countries that are experiencing active outbreaks of mpox.

Although the World Health Organization (WHO) has indicated that the risk to the general population in the UK and Europe is still low, local transmission speaks for the need for better surveillance and speedy contact tracing. Commenting on the finding of Clade Ib circulation, Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, suggested that such a finding should encourage health systems in the region to be on high alert.

The new variant was traced to travelers who had arrived from Africa and was first reported in Sweden and Germany. However, there have been no other known cases or local transmission within Europe until these recent occurring cases reported in the UK. As reported by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), this is the first case of Clade Ib household transmission documented in Europe.

Principal Medical Officer of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Professor Susan Hopkins, stated that Mpox transmits easily within households, especially in close circumstances. “Seeing additional cases occurring within the same household is not surprising,” she emphasized, adding that health care providers are keeping an eye on the outbreak and are active in finding all the contacts of the affected cases in order to contain it.

WHO has once again stressed that while mpox is most often transmitted through sexual activity or physical interaction, it could also be contracted from surfaces and materials such as sheets or clothes that have been in contact with an infected person. In order to counter the risks WHO/Europe suggests, if possible, no contact with the symptomatic person, maintaining hand cleanliness, and examining vaccination status especially for those with plans to travel to the regions affected.

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