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Most European cases have been reported in people who had travelled to parts of Africa with ongoing mpox outbreaks.
ADVERTISEMENTIreland is the latest European country to identify a case of a contagious new strain of mpox that is ravaging Central Africa.The Irish patient had recently returned from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the epicentre of an outbreak that has infected thousands of people since the new strain was detected in 2023.There are two subtypes of the mpox virus. Clade II, which is endemic in West Africa, caused the global outbreak that had health authorities on high alert in Europe and North America in 2022. It continues to spread there at low levels.Meanwhile clade I, which is endemic in Central Africa, is believed to cause more severe illness and a greater risk of death.A subset of the more dangerous strain, known as clade Ib, emerged in the DRC in September 2023 and has since spread widely across the region, particularly in Burundi and Uganda.How does mpox spread?Much is still unknown about the severity of mpox caused by clade Ib, but it appears to spread more easily and is causing more illness among children.Mpox spreads through close skin-to-skin contact, and can cause a rash, headache, fever, chills, lymph node swelling, and respiratory symptoms.The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Africa’s mpox outbreak a global public health emergency in August 2024. At the time, European health authorities warned that cases would likely emerge in Europe as well, though the risk to the public remains low.Outside of Africa, the new strain has since been detected in six European countries as well as the United States, Canada, China, India, Oman, Pakistan, and Thailand.Here’s where the new mpox strain has been found so far in Europe.IrelandIrish health authorities said the risk remains low for the public following the detection of clade Ib mpox in a person who had recently returned from the DRC. The patient was hospitalised in Dublin.United KingdomMost of the UK’s nine reported cases have been travel-related. The most recent infection, reported in February, was a person who had travelled to Uganda.The first cases were in October 2024, when a person got sick after returning from African countries where the strain is circulating and then spread mpox to three members of their household.In September, the UK government bought more than 150,000 doses of mpox vaccine to prepare for potential clade Ib risks, and recently opened vaccination sites across England.FranceIn January, someone in the French region of Brittany got mpox after close contact with two people who had travelled from Central Africa. French health authorities said that additional cases linked to countries with mpox outbreaks may emerge on occasion.ADVERTISEMENTGermanyGermany has reported seven mpox clade Ib cases, most recently in January. Its first case was in October, with five more infections in December, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said.The December cases involved someone who had travelled to an area affected by the outbreak and then infected family members, including children who had not been overseas recently, the ECDC said. There was no additional spread outside of the household.BelgiumBelgium identified two cases in December, in a person who had recently travelled abroad and a child, according to the ECDC. The agency said it had not identified any high-risk contacts.SwedenIn August 2024, Sweden became the first country outside of Africa to report a case of the new mpox strain.ADVERTISEMENTA patient sought medical care in Stockholm after being infected in a part of Africa where clade Ib mpox is spreading, Swedish health authorities said. It remains the country’s only case.
