UK health chiefs have said they are preparing for any new cases of mpox as the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared outbreaks of the virus in Africa a global emergency.
Officials are also on alert as Sweden reported Europe’s first case of mpox after a person became infected during a stay in an area of Africa.
Dr Meera Chand, deputy director at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said that the risk to the UK population is currently low, but assured that ‘planning is under way to prepare for any cases that we might see in the UK’.
‘This includes ensuring that clinicians are aware and able to recognise cases promptly, that rapid testing is available and that protocols are developed for the safe clinical care of people who have the infection, and the prevention of onward transmission.’
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Mpox, previously known as monkey pox, is a contagious virus that can cause painful skin lesions and milder symptoms like fever, chills and body aches. There are two variants of the virus; clade 1 and clade 2. Clade 2 caused a public health emergency in 2022 but was deemed relatively mild. Clade 1 has a higher fatality rate and is the one detected in Sweden.
Mpox has reportedly infected more than 14,000 people and killed at least 524 in Africa this year, with more than 96 per cent of fatalities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Currently, there are no cases of clade 1 confirmed in the UK but experts say cases can spread if international action is not taken.
Responding to the rapid spread of the virus, WHO director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the emergence of a new strain of mpox and its rapid spread in eastern Congo was ‘very worrying’.
‘On top of outbreaks of other mpox clades in DRC and other countries in Africa, it’s clear that a coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives,’ he said.