On Thursday, Chinese health authorities said that they have detected the new mutated mpox strain clade Ib as the viral infection spreads to more countries. The World Health Organization declared mpox a global public health emergency last year.
China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that it had found a cluster outbreak of the Ib subclade that started with the infection of a foreigner who has a history of travel and residence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
According to a report by Reuters, four more cases have been found in people infected after close contact with the foreigner. The patients’ symptoms are mild and include skin rash and blisters.
WHO maintains that 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.
Reportedly, the outbreak in DRC began with the spread of an endemic strain, known as clade I. But the clade Ib variant appears to spread more easily through routine close contact, including sexual contact. The variant has spread from DRC to neighbouring countries, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, triggering the emergency declaration from the WHO.
In August last year, China said 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.