First case of deadly form of poxvirus found in UK – MIDOR – EAST OKU LATEST

The first case of the potentially fatal strain of MPOX in the UK has been found in London.

The UK Health and Safety Authority (UKHSA) said the risk to the UK public from MPOX type Ib “remains low”.

Mpox, an infectious disease formerly known as monkeypox, has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Africa.

The person involved was on holiday in Africa and was on an overnight flight back to the UK on October 21.

More than 24 hours later, they experienced flu-like symptoms and a rash began to appear on October 24 that worsened over the next few days.

On October 27, the patient went to an emergency department in London for a swab test and was sent home to isolate while waiting for the results.

They have now been transferred to the High Risk Infectious Diseases Unit at the Royal Free Hospital for treatment.

UKHSA said they initially traced less than 10 people they believed to have been in contact with the patient.

These are all household callers, although the HSE is “still looking” at the number of people who may need contact tracing.

Mpox is only transmitted between people through close contact, including sexual contact, kissing, kissing or holding hands.

Symptoms include high temperature, headache, muscle pain, back pain, swollen glands, fatigue, joint pain, and rash.

Clade I outbreaks are ongoing in Africa, with clade Ia cases increasing in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and clade Ib also spreading.

Mpox clade I is considered more severe than mpox clade II, which caused a global outbreak in 2022.

In August, the World Health Organization declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in response to the category 1b virus that first appeared in the Democratic Republic of Congo last year.

In the UK, the government has ordered more than 150,000 doses of the MPOX vaccine to help strengthen the country’s defenses against the MPOX strain while continuing to support efforts between national to control the disease.

The same vaccine was used in response to an outbreak in 2022.

Under the plan, the government agreed to offer the vaccine to gay, bisexual or men who have sex with men and close contact with confirmed cases, some health care workers in wards of patients with infectious diseases and sexual health services, as well as specialized health and wellness facilities. care . Humanitarian workers in affected countries.

Last month, Sweden confirmed the first case of MPOX type I in Europe.