First case of new mpox variant detected in Germany

This undated image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases shows a colorized transmission electron micrograph of monkeypox particles (red) found within an infected cell (blue), cultured in the laboratory that was captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility in Fort Detrick, Md. FILE PHOTO/Associated Press

BERLIN — An infection with the new mpox variant clade 1b has been detected in Germany for the first time, the Robert Koch Institute health authority said on Tuesday.

The infection occurred abroad and was detected last Friday, the institute said, adding that it did not see an increased risk for Germany but was “monitoring the situation very closely”.

The new clade 1b variant has been circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo this year and has also been detected in several other African countries.

READ: Mpox: What is it, how it spreads, care for patients

The infection in Germany was found in a 33-year-old man in Cologne, a spokeswoman for the regional health ministry in North Rhine-Westphalia state told AFP.

“It can be assumed that the patient acquired the infection in an East African country,” the spokeswoman said.

The man lives in Cologne and is being treated in isolation at a local hospital, according to a spokeswoman for the local municipality.

READ: Mpox cases rise to 14, but it doesn’t mean infection spreading – DOH

He was tested after showing symptoms of the disease, the spokeswoman said, adding that all contacts of the man had been identified and were in touch with the local health department.

Mpox, a viral disease related to smallpox that causes fever, body aches, swollen lymph nodes and a rash that forms into blisters, has two main subtypes — clade 1 and clade 2.

From May 2022, clade 2 spread around the world, mostly affecting gay and bisexual men in Europe and the United States. In July 2022, the WHO declared an international public health emergency, its highest level of alarm over the spread.

Vaccination and awareness drives in many countries helped stem the number of worldwide cases and the WHO lifted the emergency in May 2023 after reporting 140 deaths out of roughly 87,400 cases.

But in 2024, a new two-pronged epidemic broke out mainly in the DRC.

As well as clade 1, which mainly affects children, a new strain emerged in the DRC, called clade 1b. Clade 1b cases have also been recorded in nearby Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda — none of which had previously detected mpox.

Single cases have also been detected in Sweden and Thailand.

The WHO declared another international emergency in August.