This is the first outbreak of the variant outside of Africa. However, scientists have clarified that the risk to the population remains low.
Authorities announced the first case of the new form of mpox in the UK last week. The person was being treated in a London hospital after recently traveling to countries in Africa where outbreaks continue.
However, the UK Health Security Agency said this week that it had identified three other cases, who lived in the same location as the first patient. They too are now being treated in a London hospital.
Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UK Health Security Agency, said mpox is highly contagious in close contact households and so it is not surprising to see other cases within the same household.
The new mpox variant was first detected earlier this year in eastern Congo. Scientists believe it causes milder symptoms, and therefore harder to notice, making it easier to spread because people may not know they are infected. Its spread in Congo and elsewhere in Africa prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a “public health emergency of international concern” in August.
Britain has recorded more than 3,000 cases of another type of mpox during the outbreak which will affect more than 100 countries in 2022.
The new mpox variant has also caused outbreaks in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Isolated cases among travelers have also been reported in Sweden, India, Germany and Thailand.
To date, there have been approximately 43,000 suspected cases of mpox in Africa, including more than 1,000 deaths, mainly in Congo. On Wednesday, the WHO said it had allocated 899,900 vaccine doses to nine African countries grappling with mpox outbreaks.
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