Two people contracted the new variant of the Mpox virus in the United Kingdom after being in contact with a patient who returned from Africa.
These are the first cases of local transmission outside Africa, according to the WHO. These individuals live with someone who recently returned from Africa and tested positive. The United Kingdom detected its first case of this variant a week earlier.
The Mpox virus, formerly called monkeypox, spreads from animals to humans and between humans, causing fever, muscle pain and skin lesions. A new epidemic is affecting Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Nigeria.
Sophie de Duiéry
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