A New Monkeypox Strain Identified in England

A New Monkeypox Strain Identified in England

Health officials in the United Kingdom have reported identifying a new strain of monkeypox in England.

What is concerning is that this strain appears to be a combination of Clade Ib (the strain that causes more severe infections and spreads more readily) and Clade IIb (the one responsible for the “Pride Summer” global outbreak in 2022).

The patient in this case reportedly contracted the infection in Asia.

A new strain of mpox, previously called monkeypox, has been detected in a person in England, say UK health officials.

The virus is a mix of two major types of the mpox virus, and was found in someone who recently returned from travelling in Asia.

Officials say they are still assessing the significance of the new strain.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says it is normal for viruses to evolve. Getting vaccinated remains the best way to protect against severe disease – although an mpox infection is mild for many.

New mpox strain identified in England https://t.co/BVPo5ruzoL

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) December 8, 2025

Currently, there are no specific reports on the patient’s condition.

The clade 1b mutation kills up to one in 100 of those infected and is believed to be behind a wave of miscarriages in Africa, where it emerged.

A different, less severe, form of mpox, called clade II, sparked alarm among health officials globally in 2022 when it began spreading rapidly across multiple countries mainly through sexual contact among gay and bisexual men.

However, new infections gradually tapered off amid boosted awareness of the disease and a hurried vaccination program.

Experts today warned the new mpox strain was ‘what experts feared would happen’ and cautioned there was still not enough available information to assess how deadly it may be.

Health officials plan to track this case and look for others like it to determine how the virus’s evolution will affect its route of transmission and severity.

Professor of global health research Trudie Lang, from the University of Oxford, said: “It is of concern that there is an mpox case in the UK, and of further concern that it is a new recombinant mpox virus.

…“The recent experience we have had, and still persists in Africa, when clade Ib emerged, showed that this virus can cause severe disease, and so measures to reduce transmission and prevent spread are vital.”

She added: “With clade Ib we observed changes in transmission, seeing person-to-person close contact as well as sexual transmission, changing from previous strains being limited mainly to animal-to-human and within households, and the previous European outbreak where the transmission was limited to close sexual transmission.

“So, if further cases of this strain appear in the UK, and anywhere in the world, it will be important to understand the route of transmission, the presentation and severity of disease, so we can assess whether this strain is more or less dangerous than previous ones and response accordingly with a connected global effort.”

🦠 England has detected a newly evolved mpox strain combining clade I and clade II – a recombinant form that scientists say warrants genomic surveillance as the virus continues to evolve. 🔗 https://t.co/xmHINx0duO #HealthNews #Mpox #PublicHealth #Genomics #InfectiousDiseases pic.twitter.com/Mn76EAxo82

— MED (@MEDtriagex) December 8, 2025

Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.