January 20, (THEWILL) – On Monday, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said that a new case of Clade Ib Mpox has been detected in England.
UKHSA said the case was detected in East Sussex and the individual is now under specialist care at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
According to the agency, “They had recently returned from Uganda, where there is currently community transmission of Clade Ib Mpox, also known as monkeypox.”
The agency said it is checking the infected individual’s close contacts, with the help of partner organisations.
“Contacts will be offered testing and vaccination where needed to prevent the infection spreading, and they will be told what, if any, further care is needed if they have symptoms or test positive”, it added.
It is the sixth case of Clade Ib mpox confirmed in England since October 2024. But UKHSA Deputy Director, Dr Meera Chand, said the risk to the UK population “remains low”.
Clade Ib mpox has been found in several countries in Africa in recent months and imported cases have been detected in several countries including Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, and the US.
The clade Ib variant is a new form of the virus linked to a global health emergency declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in August.
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