A new strain of monkeypox has been identified in the UK, health officials have confirmed.

A person who recently travelled to West Africa has been diagnosed with a different variant of monkeypox circulating during the current outbreak, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced.

The unnamed individual has been admitted to the High Consequence Infectious Disease (HCID) unit at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

Contact tracing is now being conducted to establish if there are any further linked cases.

No cases had yet been identified as of Thursday, 1 September, the UKHSA said.

UKHSA incident director, Dr Sophia Maki, said: “We are working to contact the individuals who had close contact with the case prior to confirmation of their infection, to assess them as necessary and provide advice.”

The risk to the public is “very low” due to “well established and robust” infection control procedures, which will be strictly followed, she added.

Man tests positive for monkeypox, COVID and HIV after holiday to Spain

Smaller doses of monkeypox vaccine to be offered to stretch supplies

Monkeypox: UK could be short of at least 100,000 doses of vaccine, experts warn

Anyone who is travelling to West and Central Africa is urged to be alert for the symptoms of monkeypox, which include a high temperature, headache, muscle and back ache, swollen glands, shivering and exhaustion.

Single genital lesions and sores on the mouth or anus have also been identified as symptoms of the virus by an international collaboration of clinicians across 16 countries.

Some of the symptoms were so severe they required patients to be admitted to hospital.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Gay and bisexual men are disproportionately affected by the spread of the disease, with sexual closeness the most likely route of transmission.

However, it can be spread via any close contact, the scientific research revealed.

Chloe Orkin, professor of HIV Medicine at Queen Mary University of London, where the data was collated, said in July: “Viruses know no borders and monkeypox infections have now been described in 70 countries and more than 13,000 people.”

Anyone returning to the UK with monkeypox symptoms is urged to call 101.

The discovery of a new strain comes days after it emerged the UK is facing a 100,000 shortfall of monkeypox vaccine doses because the UKHSA grossly underestimated how many were required.

An NHS pilot scheme is now under way offering “fractional” doses to stretch stocks of the jab in a bid to protect five times as many people.

Related posts:

UK COVID cases continue to fall – just 1 in 4,230 infected in Wales, says ONS Thousands with cancer could be going unchecked – as numbers starting treatment post-lockdown soar Police launch probe after fans clash before Manchester United’s game with Leeds Current wave of COVID infections may not peak until December, modellers predict ‘Dedicated and passionate’ headteacher among victims of Storm Arwen ‘I drank a bottle of Lucozade from the Queen’s fridge’ – the day Batman broke into the grounds of Buckingham Palace Boy charged over stabbing of last year’s 30th teenage homicide victim in London 100,000 critical workers to take daily COVID tests in bid to ease Omicron shortages D-Day veteran and fundraiser Harry Billinge dies aged 96 ‘Heroic’ neighbour sacrificed himself to save boy’s life after being hit with 4kg dumbbell Julia James suspect ‘pictured carrying murder weapon’ Pressure of rising prices ‘a ticking time bomb’ for poorest communities