UKHSA confirms fifth UK case of new mpox clade 1b strain detected in Leeds

A fifth case of a new strain of mpox has been detected in England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed.

The affected person, who lives in Leeds, is now under specialist care at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

It is the first confirmed case of the clade 1b mpox virus outside London and is not linked to the others.

All four previous cases were from the same household and have now fully recovered, the UKSHA said.

The agency said the person had recently returned from Uganda, where there has been community transmission of the virus.

Close contacts are being contacted and will be offered testing and vaccination if necessary.

Officials said there is low risk to the UK population.

Prof Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at UKHSA, said: "It is thanks to clinicians rapidly recognising the symptoms and our diagnostics tests that we have been able to detect this new case.

"Investigations are underway to learn how the individual acquired the infection and to assess whether there are any further associated cases."

Mpox spreads between through direct contact with rash, skin lesions or scabs caused by the virus, including during sexual contact, kissing or other skin-to-skin contact.

There is also a risk from contact with bodily fluids, bedding or towels or clothing, and a possibility of spread through prolonged face-to-face contact such as talking, breathing, coughing, or sneezing.

Symptoms include skin rash with blisters, spots or ulcers that can appear anywhere on the body, fever, headache, backache and muscle aches.

Clade 1b mpox has been widely circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya in recent months. Imported cases have been detected in Canada, Sweden, India, Thailand and Germany.

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