First case of new mpox variant discovered in Germany

Germany has discovered its first case of the potentially deadly new mpox variant.

The World Health Organisation declared mpox a public health emergency of global concern in August – the second time it had done so in two years – after an outbreak of the viral infection in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where at least 450 people have died since 2021.

The UN health agency said it had issued its second emergency notice over the “very worrying” emergence and “rapid spread” of a new strain named clade 1b, which appeared to be spreading mainly through sexual networks.

More than 100 cases had been confirmed in four countries neighbouring the DRC in the month prior to the WHO’s declaration – Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda – each of which had not reported any cases of mpox until then.

The first sign of its spread beyond the African continent came on 15 August when global health officials confirmed an infection with a new strain of the mpox virus in Sweden.

The following week, Thailand reported the first case in Asia of the new variant, in a 66-year-old European man who had arrived in Bangkok from an unnamed African country on 14 August. Cases were subsequently confirmed in India and Thailand.

In the latest development, Germany has now also confirmed its first case, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for public health said on Tuesday.

The institute said an infection caused by the new variant, which had been acquired abroad, was detected on 18 October. It noted that close physical contact was required for transmission.

“The RKI currently considers the risk to the health of the general population in Germany to be low,” the public health institute said, adding that it was monitoring the situation closely and would adapt its assessment if necessary.

The institute said that Germany had identified some 3,800 cases of the clade 2b mpox variant since May 2022, most of which were discovered in 2022. The majority of cases do not lead to serious illess and no cases in Germany have been fatal, the RKI said.

Mpox typically spreads through sexual contact and symptoms generally appear between six and 13 days after infection, including fever, headache, muscle pain and a distinctive rash, which can spread quickly throughout the body, including on the palms and soles of the feet.

Most people who experience mild to moderate symptoms do so for two to four weeks.

More than 100,000 laboratory-confirmed cases of mpox, encompassing all variants, have been reported in 120 countries, with more than 220 deaths among confirmed cases, the World Health Organisation said in August.

In the UK, there were a total of 286 cases of mpox reported in 2023 and the first seven months of 2024, following 3,732 confirmed and highly probable cases in 2022. The UK has not yet discovered any cases of the clade 1b strain.

Additional reporting by Reuters