UK Reports Almost 400 Mpox Infections, 4 Clade 1b Cases

Nearly 400 monkeypox cases have been identified in the UK for the 2023–24 period, with four being the more dangerous clade 1b variant, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). “In 2023 and 2024 (up to 31 October 2024), there have been a total of 378 cases of Clade 2b mpox reported in the UK,” the agency said in a Nov. 7 report. Of the 378 cases, 356 were in England, 13 in Scotland, two in Wales, and seven in Northern Ireland. The outbreak of clade 2b variant was first confirmed in England on May 6, 2022. By the end of 2022, there were 3,732 confirmed and highly probable clade 2b cases in the UK. Before the outbreak, there were only seven mpox cases in the country between 2018 and 2021....