Health chiefs have issued an alert after a fresh case of a killer strain of mpox has been detected in Britain.
It is the first UK patient with the deadly virus to have contracted it within the country, rather than abroad.
Virus experts have warned that this is likely to mean mpox is spreading within local communities.
The strain, called clade 1b, has been named ‘the most dangerous one so far’ by experts, as it kills one in ten of those infected and is believed to be behind a wave of miscarriages.
The latest patient is from the North East of England and was diagnosed in March, according to the alert by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
The Government added that the overall risk to the population remains ‘low’, as Clade Ia and Ib mpox are no longer classified as a high consequence infectious disease.
All previous cases in the UK to date have either travelled to an affected country or have a link to someone that has.
In January, the UKHSA announced the seventh case of the deadly strain had been detected in the UK.
Officials don’t yet know how they became infected with the strain. But they had ‘recently’ travelled back to the UK from Uganda, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said
Officials don’t yet know how they became infected with the strain.
But they had ‘recently’ travelled back to the UK from Uganda, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.
The UK’s first case of clade 1b was detected after the unidentified patient developed flu-like symptoms, followed by a rash and attended A&E on October 27 where they were tested.
They were then transferred to a high-level isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in North London — the same facility where imported cases of Ebola were treated in 2015.
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.
In early January, 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.
A global outbreak of mpox, previously known as monkeypox, began in Africa in May 2022.
Cases of Clade 1b in the UK are a far cry from the 2022 outbreak where thousands of cases were recorded, mostly in London
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.
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.
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 and proven to be effective 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.
