Health authorities in China said on Thursday that they had detected a new mutated sub-strain of monkeypox as the viral infection spread to more countries, after the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency in the world last year.
China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention said it had detected an outbreak of the IB subtype that began with a foreigner with a history of travel and residence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo becoming infected.
The center monitored 4 other cases of people who were infected after close contact with a foreigner. The symptoms that appear on patients are mild and include skin rashes and blisters.
Monkeypox is spread through close contact and causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled sores. Although the disease is usually mild, it can cause death in rare cases.
Last August, the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency in the world for the second time in two years due to monkeypox, after its outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its spread to neighboring countries.