Published on 01/09/2025 at 9:44 a.m.
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese health authorities said on Thursday they had detected the clade Ib variant of the mpox virus on Chinese territory as the viral infection spreads to more countries.
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said it had identified a group of subclade Ib outbreaks, which began with the infection of a foreigner who had traveled and stayed in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Four other cases were discovered in people infected after close contact with this stranger.
Patients’ symptoms are mild, including rashes and blisters.
The mpox virus, also known as monkeypox or “monkeypox”, is transmitted by close contact and causes flu-like symptoms as well as purulent lesions on the body.
-Although usually benign, it can be fatal in rare cases.
Last August, the WHO declared smallpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that spread to neighboring countries .
(Written by Farah Master and the Beijing editorial team; French version Noémie Naudin, edited by Kate Entringer)
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