U.K. health officials announced that a patient was diagnosed with a new strain of monkeypox following a recent trip to West Africa.
The country’s Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said that preliminary genomic sequencing of the virus indicated that it is not the current outbreak strain circulating in the U.K. The patient is receiving care in a High Consequence Infectious Disease unit at Royal Liverpool University Hospital.
Currently, there are more than 3,000 confirmed monkeypox cases in the U.K., though there have been no reported deaths.
The UKHSA and National Health Service said that they are following appropriate protocols for dealing with imported infectious diseases cases and added that the risk to the general public is “very low.”
“We are working to contact the individuals who have had close contact with the case prior to confirmation of their infection, to assess them as necessary and provide advice,” UKHSA Incident Director Dr. Sophia Maki said in a statement.
There are two strains of monkeypox, the Central African and West African, with the former causing more severe infections and likelihood of death.
As it relates to the U.S., there are nearly 20,000 confirmed cases as the Biden administration has taken steps to combat the outbreak by bolstering the existing monkeypox vaccine stockpile. To that end, the National Institutes of Health recently launched a clinical trial that will test the effectiveness of doses of Jynneos in terms of protecting against the disease.
Pharma companies have played a role in the response as well, with ViiV Healthcare and Gilead Sciences launching monkeypox emergency response funds to assist healthcare organizations and community outreach efforts supporting vulnerable populations.
