Mpox virus outbreak: Isle of Man prepares for outbreak as Asia’s first lethal new variant confirmed in Thailand

Concerns about the mpox virus have intensified with the emergence of a new potentially more dangerous variant.

The UK has reported 186 mpox cases over the past two years, with no fatalities. However, an outbreak in Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has led to approximately 450 deaths linked to the new Clade 1b strain.

The first two cases of the virus outside Africa were identified in Sweden and Thailand, both involving travelers from the affected regions.

While thos variant has not yet been detected in the UK, there are currently no official travel restrictions from countries experiencing outbreaks.

Authorities in the UK are monitoring the situation but have reassured the public that robust control measures are in place. The focus remains on maiintaining vigilance and controliling any potential spread, rather than imposing travel restrictions, health authorities said.

The government’s pledge to provide the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a £3.1million mpox package has been welcomed by charities.

But Wateraid has urged ministers to focus their support on funding clean water to tackle the virus.

Katherine Nightingale, global international affairs director at WaterAid, said: “The UK government is right to support efforts to contain both mpox and cholera outbreaks in Democratic Republic of the Congo – but funding must be directed towards ensuring clean water and sanitation are provided across healthcare facilities, households, and schools, as recommended by the World Health Organisation.

“We cannot vaccine our way out of this growing health emergency. Currently 1 in 10 people do not have access to clean water and half of the world’s healthcare facilities do not have basic hand hygiene services. These conditions are an open invitation for infections to walk right in and disrupt lives.

“If the UK really wants to play its part in killing the menace of Mpox and save lives, the government must urgently prioritise investment into clean water and good hygiene – our vote is for water, water for all.”

Congo reported more than 1,000 new mpox cases in the last week up to Tuesday as African health authorities asked for desperately needed vaccines to help fight its “growing” threat on the continent.

The World Health Organization has declared the outbreaks in Africa a global emergency.

Mpox belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox but causes milder symptoms like fever, chills and body aches, and mostly spreads through close skin-to-skin contact, including sexual intercourse. People with more serious cases can develop lesions on the face, hands, chest and genitals.

While mpox has been reported in 12 of Africa’s 54 countries during these outbreaks, the vast central African nation of Congo has recorded by far the most cases this year. Out of a total of 18,910 cases in 2024, 94% — or 17,794 — were in Congo, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, with 535 of the 541 deaths reported.

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More than 17,000 cases have now been confirmed across the continent, with the WHO saying the outbreak is of “international concern”.

The public health emergency was declared by the group’s director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The outbreak comes as a new strain is identified, named clade 1, said to be spreading mainly through sexual networks. WHO says it has been identified in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda – all countries that have never reported cases of mpox before.

One case of this new strain has now been detected in Sweden, the country’s public health agency has confirmed. They say the person, who is now in isolation, had contracted it during a stay in an African country where other cases have been reported.

Health officials in Thailand also said on Wednesday that they were seeking to determine the strain of an mpox case in a European man who arrived from Africa the previous week.

Both the Philippines and Pakistan reported that mpox cases they had been testing had been confirmed to be the previous variant already circulating in many countries and not the new clade 1 strain which is of concern to the WHO.

Here is a map of all mpox cases, of every strain, that have been confirmed around the world since the start of 2024:

Danish biotech firm Bavarian Nordic has secured a contract to supply 440,000 doses of its smallpox and mpox vaccines to an undisclosed European country.

The company confirmed that the latest order was expected and will not affect its overall vaccine production capacity.

The announcement comes as the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a global health emergency for mpox marking the second of such virus to hit in two years.

Bavarian Nordic CEO Paul Chaplin claimed that the company is capable of providing up to 10 million doses of its vaccines by the end of next year, with two millioin doses available within the remainder of this year.

Mr Chaplin revealed that production of the mpox vaccine could be scaled up prior to receiving further orders, depending on the outcome of ongoing discussions with the WHO.

The Eu’s health chief Stella Kyriakides has called for increased vaccine donations to combat the spread of the mpox virus, urging a “coordinated and sustained” effort across Europe.

As the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety she issued a public letter pressuring EU member states to contribute to vaccine doses.

Around 215,000 doses have been donated to the Africa Centres for Disease Control so far facilitated by the EU’s anti-pandemic taskforce.

Ms Kyriakides emphasized the urgency of the situation, setting a donation “deadline” for the end of August.

But it remains unclear if there will be consequences for member states that fail to meet this target.

Five countries are tigheting their border controls in response to the emergence of a more dangerous variant of the mpox virus.

Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia are rolling out new health protocols.

In Thailand, travelers arriving from countries experiencing active outbreaks will undergo rigorous screening and must register with the authorities.

Both Thailand and South Korea have implemented policies to allow officials to quarantine individuals showing symptoms of the virus.