UK reports 2 additional cases of deadly new mpox variant – POLITICO

Two additional cases of the new variant of mpox, an infectious viral disease that can cause high fever, a painful rash and death, were reported Monday by the U.K. Health Security Agency, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the country to three.

The new infections were detected among the household contacts of the country’s first confirmed case, which was reported in London on Oct. 30. The original victim had recently traveled to countries in Africa that have been hit hard by the outbreak, which has killed nearly 1,000 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring countries.

“Mpox is very infectious in households with close contact and so it is not unexpected to see further cases within the same household,” said Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the U.K. agency, in a press release. “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.”

The Clade I variant of mpox, which was previously known as monkeypox, is a more serious form of mpox than Clade II, which caused a global outbreak in 2022.

Europe has seen only a few reported cases of the new mpox variant so far, in Sweden and Germany.