A new variant of mpox stain clade Ib has been discovered according to Chinese health authorities on Thursday.
China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said it had found a cluster outbreak of the Ib subclade that started with the infection of a foreigner who has a history of travel and residence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The outbreak in DRC began with the spread of an endemic strain, known as clade I. But the clade Ib variant appears to spread more easily through routine close contact, including sexual contact.
The variant has spread from DRC to neighbouring countries, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, triggering the emergency declaration from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
China said in August last year it would monitor people and goods entering the country for mpox.
The country’s National Health Commission said mpox would be managed as a Category B infectious disease, enabling officials to take emergency measures such as restricting gatherings, suspending work and school, and sealing off areas when there is an outbreak of a disease.
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