How is new strain of mpox found in UK different to what we’ve had before?
A new, more infectious strain of mpox has been detected in the UK for the first time.
The single case of the mpox virus variant Clade 1b was detected in a patient who is being treated at the Royal Free Hospital in London, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
The UKHSA has said the risk to the population “remains extremely low” as it traces less than 10 direct contacts since the case was discovered.
Is the new strain worse?
The new variant that has emerged is known as Clade 1b, and is believed to cause milder symptoms than other strands of mpox, but it concerns health officials because it spreads more easily through close contact, particularly among children.
Clade 1b appears to be less severe than some other strains, with countries where it is circulating reporting around a tenfold reduction in case fatality rate, according to the UKHSA.
It was first detected in a mining town in the DRC earlier this year, before it spread to neighbouring countries.
What do we know about the UK case?
The case was confirmed to the UKHSA on Tuesday, which says the person involved had been on holiday in Africa and travelled back to the UK on an overnight flight on 21 October.
More than 24 hours later, they developed flu-like symptoms and on 24 October, started to develop a rash which got worse in the following days.
When they attended A&E in London on 27 October, they were swabbed, tested and then isolated while waiting for their results.
Fewer than 10 direct contacts are being traced after the discovery, and Professor Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at UKHSA, said the “risk to the UK population remains low”.
Has there been an outbreak in the UK before?
There have been cases of mpox in the UK before, with most seen in 2022 when there was a global outbreak of a less infectious strain which spread to more than 100 countries, prompting the WHO to declare a public health emergency of international concern on 23 July 2022.
A total of 2,137 cases had been confirmed in the UK at that stage, but by 31 December 2022 that number had soared to 3,732 cases – 3,553 were in England, 34 in Northern Ireland, 97 in Scotland and 48 in Wales.
Before the spring of 2022, UK cases were usually associated with travel to or from countries where mpox is endemic, particularly in western or central Africa.
But in May that year, there was a large outbreak in the UK, mostly in men who are gay, bisexual, or have sex with other men.
A vaccination programme was launched in the UK in the summer of 2022 and closed the following July.
There have been no reported deaths due to mpox in the UK.
Where else has the Clade 1b strain been found?
The total number of suspected cases in Africa since the beginning of the year now stands at 42,438, with 8,113 confirmed as mpox, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
At least 1,000 deaths have been reported across Africa, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the increasing spread of the disease a global health emergency.
The first case of the variant outside of Africa was confirmed in Sweden in August, while one was also reported in Thailand and another in India earlier this month.
Germany also reported its first Clade 1b case on 22 October.
What are the symptoms?
Common symptoms of mpox are a skin rash or pus-filled lesions which can last two to four weeks.
The rashes can be located anywhere on the body and some people may only have one, while others can have hundreds or more.
These are other symptoms listed by the CDC:
- Fever
- Chills
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Exhaustion
- Muscle aches and backache
- Headache
- Respiratory symptoms (e.g., sore throat, nasal congestion, or cough)
The WHO says people may start to feel unwell before they get a rash or skin lesions, while for others the skin symptoms can be the first or only sign.
People with more severe mpox can suffer with the following symptoms, according to the WHO:
- More widespread lesions – especially in the mouth, eyes, and genitals
- Severe bacterial infections
- Lung infections
- Mpox affecting the brain (encephalitis)
- Heart (myocarditis)
- Lungs (pneumonia)
- Eye problems
Newborn babies, children, people who are pregnant and people with underlying immune deficiencies may be at higher risk of more serious mpox disease and death, the WHO adds.
How is it treated?
Currently, there is no treatment approved specifically for mpox infections, according to the CDC.
It says that for most patients with mpox who have intact immune systems and don’t have a skin disease, supportive care and pain control will help them recover without medical treatment.
People with severe mpox may require hospital treatment, supportive care and antiviral medicines to reduce the severity of lesions and shorten the time to recovery, the WHO says.
Many years of research on treatments for smallpox have led to the development of products that may also be useful for treating mpox, it adds.
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It says an antiviral developed to treat smallpox called tecovirimat was approved by the European Medicines Agency for the treatment of mpox under exceptional circumstances in 2022. It also said its use for mpox has been limited so far.
However, a two-dose vaccine has been developed to protect against the virus, which is widely available in Western countries but not in Africa.
Scientists from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) say they need more than 10 million vaccine doses but only 200,000 are available.
What is mpox?
It is a viral disease that has occurred mostly in central and western Africa.
Mpox has been endemic in parts of Africa for decades after it was first detected in humans in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 1970, having originally been identified in laboratory monkeys, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
It used to be known as monkeypox, but was renamed in 2022 by the WHO after receiving complaints that the original name was “racist and stigmatising”.
UK
UK sanctions Russian military officer accused of Salisbury novichok poisoning in crackdown on Kremlin
The UK has sanctioned a Russian military officer accused of helping poison former double agent Sergei Skripal with novichok in Salisbury.
The Foreign Office has imposed 56 new sanctions on people and entities linked to Russia, including those in the Wagner mercenary group that operates unofficially on Vladimir Putin’s behalf, and companies based in China, Turkey and central Asia supplying parts to Russia.
Denis Sergeev, who the Met Police charged over the attempted murder of double agent Mr Skripal, has been sanctioned under the chemical weapons sanctions regime.
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“Sergeev provided support in the preparation and use of the chemical weapon novichok in Salisbury…and provided a coordinating role in London on the weekend of the attack,” the Foreign Office said.
Sergei Skripal and Yulia Skripal were poisoned with novichok. Pic: Shutterstock
Mr Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury, Wiltshire, in March 2018.
Police said nerve agent novichok was applied to the front door of his home.
Three Russians, who police said are GRU military intelligence officers, have been charged in absentia over the incident.
Sergeev was the last to be charged after police said he was acting under the alias Sergey Fedotov.
Dawn Sturgess died after picking up a sample perfume bottle with novichok in
A public inquiry into the death of Dawn Sturgess, a woman unwittingly killed after coming across a sample perfume bottle containing novichok, heard Mr Skripal believed Mr Putin had ordered the attack on him.
Moscow has repeatedly rejected British accusations the Kremlin was involved.
The inquiry heard the amount of novichok in the perfume bottle was enough to kill thousands of people.
Also included in the latest sanctions round are companies supplying Russia with military equipment being used in its war against Ukraine.
Ten companies based in China, and a handful from Turkey, Estonia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, are on the list for supplying and producing machine tools, microelectronics and components for drones used by Russia in Ukraine.
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Russian-based mercenary groups operating in sub-Saharan Africa with links to the Kremlin are also on the list.
The Foreign Office said they have threatened peace and security in Libya, Mali and the Central African Republic, and have committed widespread human rights abuses across Africa.
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Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “Today’s measures will continue to push back on the Kremlin’s corrosive foreign policy, undermining Russia’s attempts to foster instability across Africa and disrupting the supply of vital equipment for Putin’s war machine.
“And smashing the illicit international networks that Russia has worked so hard to forge.
“Putin is nearly 1,000 days into a war he thought would only take a few. He will fail and I will continue to bear down on the Kremlin and support the Ukrainian people in their fight for freedom.”
Police have made a direct appeal to those involved in the murder of a teenager to finally bring her family closure, exactly 30 years after she disappeared.
Lindsay Rimer, 13, went out to buy a box of Corn Flakes late in the evening on 7 November 1994 and never returned home. Her body was found in a canal close to her home six months later.
Lindsay’s family have also marked this year’s anniversary with a renewed appeal for information from the public, particularly in the town of Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire where Lindsay lived and died.
“This person should be in prison, not us because that’s where we feel we’ve been for the last 30 years,” her sister Kate Rimer told Sky News.
Juliet Rimer was just one when her sister was killed but has recently been reading letters and diaries to gain a better understanding of a life cut short.
“It’s just, it’s a bit of a horror film that we have to do this,” she said. “The fact that I had a sister that I never knew who was murdered, I just can’t wrap my head around that. It’s had a massive impact on me.”
Lindsay months before her death
Kate, who played the part of her sister in a police reconstruction a year after her disappearance, says the family believes someone has information that could lead to her killer’s arrest.
“It’s usually been my mum who does this but the emotional toll it’s taken on my parents means that they just can’t do this anymore.
“It’s incredibly emotional, it opens everything up, and it reflects back over 30 years ago and everything that we lived through then. And just the horror of a loved family member, a child being murdered, is a really bizarre situation. You live your normal life around that and then we’re opening up again to bring murder and death back into our family.”
In the years since Lindsay’s disappearance, police have spoken to more than 5,000 people and examined 1,200 vehicles. Two men were arrested and later released.
A new sighting of Lindsay after she left the convenience shop on the night she disappeared has been confirmed and police believe those in the community have vital information.
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Juliet, left, and Kate Rimer speak to Sky News this month
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Detective Chief Inspector James Entwistle of West Yorkshire Police made a direct appeal to those who were involved in killing and disposing of her body.
“Has this been on your conscience for thirty years?” he said.
“It’s perfectly possible there’s more than one person involved, its perfectly possible there’s a vehicle involved. Maybe you didn’t murder Lindsay but you know exactly who did because you were there and that’s sat on your conscience for 30 years.
“Now is the time to come and talk to us, now is the time to draw a line under this and bring that closure for Lindsay’s family.”
New posters featuring Lindsay’s picture have gone up around Hebden Bridge as part of the appeal for information and an increased police presence will be in the town.
Juliet said: “It has been 30 years but Lindsey didn’t deserve this and we owe it to her as her family to keep doing this.”
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