Ultra-deadly mpox strain has likely been 'spreading undetected' for weeks in Britain, top virus experts warn - as first UK case sparks fears of outbreak READ MORE: Everything you need to know about the deadly new mpox strain By Emily Stearn, Senior Health Reporter For Mailonline Published: 14:38 GMT, 31 October 2024 | Updated: 14:38 GMT, 31 October 2024 e-mail View comments Mpox could be silently spreading in the UK, experts fear as officials scramble to contain a potential crisis. One Brit has already been sickened by a strain never seen in this country before, which kills one in 10 people infected. The mutation, dubbed clade 1b, was caught after the unidentified patient travelled to the UK from a holiday in Africa on October 21, before developing symptoms a day later.
The patient has been transferred to a high-level isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in North London . But top virus doctors have told MailOnline that the first patient is likely to be one of many. ' It is very likely that there are undetected cases of mpox clade 1b in the UK,' said Dr Azeem Majeed, a public health expert based at Imperial College London .
Meanwhile, other specialists described the unchecked spread of the virus as 'inevitable', adding it is 'very likely' multiple cases have gone undetected in the UK for weeks. Yesterday, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) bosses revealed they don't know how the person with diagnosed disease caught the the strain but investigations are 'underway'. They urg.