The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) reported the first known US case of the mpox virus, according to a CDPH release Saturday.
A case of “clade I mpox” was identified in a traveler recently returned from Africa, where the species circulates. Officials with CDPH stressed that the risk to the public remains “very low.”
The person, who sought medical attention in San Mateo County due to their history of travel to East Africa and symptoms, lives alone at home.
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Clade I mpox, historically associated with more severe illness than clade II – the type causing outbreaks in California and the US since 2022 – has shown mild clinical presentations in recent cases as long as patients receive medical attention.
CDPH has notified the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the case, and patient samples are being sent for further laboratory analysis.
A new type of mpox was recorded in a case found in California, the first in the United States. (Stock)
Public health officials are contacting those who may have been in close contact with the patient, although there is no evidence of community transmission of clade I mpox in California or nationwide.
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Both clade I and clade II mpox are spread mainly through close contact, skin-to-skin contact, close contact, or sex. In its release, the CDPH also reassured the public that casual contact, such as in offices, classrooms, or stores, poses little risk of mpox transmission.
According to the CDC, the latter type is spread through close skin-to-skin contact, including sexual contact, and has the potential to cause serious illness and even death. It first appeared in eastern Congo.
A patient infected with mpox shows sores on his body in Kamituga, South Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, September 20. (Glody Murhabazi/AFP via Getty Images)
As of September, more than 31,000 confirmed cases of mpox have been documented worldwide, most of them concentrated in three African countries: Burundi, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as reported by the World Health Organization.
The CDC has also identified travel-related cases of this new mpox strain in countries including Germany, India, Kenya, Sweden, Thailand, Zimbabwe, and the United Kingdom.
The CDC has issued enhanced safety precautions for travelers to Central and East Africa, where outbreaks of clade I mpox are ongoing.
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No deaths have been reported yet from the new strain, according to the CDC.
CDPH did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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