UK could see ‘explosion’ of mpox cases in just TWO WEEKS – as threat of ‘double outbreak’ grows

THE UK is poised to see an outbreak of the new more dangerous variant of mpox in just two weeks, an infectious disease expert has warned.

Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, told the Sun he would “bet on” cases emerging in the UK in the coming fortnight as the disease develops and people with symptoms seek medical treatment.

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The mutant strain of mpox, known as clade 1b, has spread rapidly from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to several neighbouring countries,  prompting the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare a global health emergency.

The first case to be detected outside the continent was spotted in Sweden last week, prompting the NHS to put itself on high alert for cases in the UK.

However, Prof Paul said it’s “likely that we’ve got infections already in Britain,” that are spreading under the radar.

This is because the first visual symptoms of the disease like lesions don’t emerge for at least 12 days after infection, meaning most don’t seek medical treatment until around the 13th day.

“If someone got infected with clade 1b today we almost certainly wouldn’t know about it for at least three weeks afterwards – probably three,” he said.

The UK is already seeing a rise in cases of clade 2 mpox – which triggered the last global health emergency in 2022.

It’s a milder version of the disease, typically spread through sexual contact, and has largely spread among gay men.

In July, there were 43 confirmed or ‘highly probable’ cases of the virus detected in England – up from 17 in June, according to UK Health Security Data (UKHSA).

The only way to tell these clades apart is to send samples of the virus off for testing, so there is a chance some of these cases could be the clade 1b, Prof Paul said.

Additionally, the expert cautioned there is a potential risk of both clades “surging at the same time,” which could lead to a double outbreak of mpox.

“This could happen if both clades affected different populations, [for instance]… if one affected female sex workers and the other, men who slept with men,” he explained

However, if they affect the same group it’s likely one would cancel the other out.

“It’s a bit like what happens when a new Covid variant comes along and all the other variants disappear because they just can’t compete with it,” he said.

Mpox – previously known as monkeypox – sparked an international health emergency in 2022, when it spread to more than 100 countries.

Although the DRC has been tackling an epidemic of clade 1 for years, in September the virus mutated into a new strain named clade 1b.

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This variant is much deadlier, however, and is said to have a mortality rate of up to 10 per cent and is particularly dangerous to children.

Clade 1b has already been reported in neighbouring countries including Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda, as well as the case in Sweden.

The disease has already killed at least 500 people and infected 13,700, according to African Health authorities.

The map above reveals the 15 countries where the bug has been found so far.

The UKHSA has advised those intending to travel to an affected area to seek health advice from their GP.

“Those travelling to areas affected by the ongoing outbreak should take sensible precautions to protect themselves from the risk of infection,” said Dr Mary Ramsay, Director of Public Health Programmes at UKHSA told the Sun.

“Currently the risk to most travellers is small, and vaccination against mpox infection is not recommended for the majority of people.” 

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO, stressed that the outbreak is “something that should concern us all,” as he announced the agency’s eighth public health emergency of international concern on Wednesday – the same step the agency took for Covid-19, shortly before it became a global pandemic in 2020.