Chinese health officials said a new mutant mpox strain clade Ib has been discovered, and the virus infection has spread to other countries since the World Health Organisation declared a worldwide public health emergency last year.
The Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention reported a cluster epidemic of the Ib subclade, which began with the infection of a foreigner with a history of travel and residence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Four more cases have been discovered in people who became ill after having intimate contact with a foreigner. The patients’ symptoms are minor and include a skin rash and blisters.
Mpox spreads through close contact and causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body. Although usually mild, it can be fatal in rare cases.
WHO last August declared mpox 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.
The outbreak in DRC started with the spread of an indigenous strain known as clade I. However, the clade Ib variant appears to be more easily transmitted by routine close contact, including sexual interaction.
The variant expanded from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to neighboring countries such as Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, prompting the WHO to issue an emergency proclamation.
China said in August last year it would monitor people and goods entering the country for mpox.
The country’s National Health Commission said mpox would be managed as a Category B infectious disease, enabling officials to take emergency measures such as restricting gatherings, suspending work and school, and sealing off areas when there is an outbreak of a disease.
