Several hundred Mpox cases have been reported in the UK alone since the disease started spreading through several African nations before cases were detected outside the continent
Mpox Clade 1 has officially arrived in London – with health officials reporting a single case of the virus in the UK capital.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed on Wednesday that one death had been official recorded. And while the latest case is new, it is not the first to arrive in the country, with Mpox, also known as Monkeypox, having first landed in the UK during the twilight years of the Covid pandemic in 2022. The earlier cases came from a different strain or “Clade” known as Clade II, and the UKHSA has recorded several hundred between 2023 and 2024.
The health agency has reported 368 cases of mpox during this period, the bulk of which – 346 – were recorded in England. No one has died in the UK, but more than 200 deaths have been reported overall. Only one case of Clade I has been reported so far, but that figure could rapidly increase in the months or years to come, as the UKHSA has said it is possible the strain may spread more easily than its counterpart.
How contagious is Clade I mpox?
Clade I cases have so far been reported only in five Central African nations, with some limited spread to others in eastern countries, and a few outside the continent. The UKHSA has said the strain spreads similarly to its Clade II counterpart, which transmits in the following ways:
- Any kind of direct contact with rash, skin lesions or scabs
- Any contact with bodily fluids such as saliva, snot or mucous
- Contact with clothing, linens or other surfaces contaminated through contact with someone infected by mpox
Clade I may be slightly more infective than the other strain, however, as the UKHSA has said it may also transmit via “prolonged face-to-face contact”. The organisation said in a blog post: “It is possible that clade I mpox may spread between people through close and prolonged face-to-face contact such as talking, breathing, coughing, or sneezing close to one another.
“However, there is currently limited evidence so this will be updated as new information is available.”
What are the symptoms of mpox?
Mpox symptoms, like other viral diseases, take between five and 21 days to start manifesting. The virus produces an array of sometimes grizzly effects, including an emblematic rash that appears alongside a fever and other symptoms that are more typical of an infection.
Early symptoms include:
- High temperature (37C+)
- Headache
- Aching muscles
- Backache
- Swollen glands
- Shivering (chills)
- Exhaustion
- Joint pain
The NHS states that, in most cases, the rash will appear between one and five days following the first symptoms. Pocks can crop up anywhere on the skin, including on the palms of the hands, mouth, feet, genitals and anus. They usually start on the face before spreading elsewhere.