Officials in the United Kingdom have reported the detection of further cases of a novel strain of mpox.

On Monday, November 4, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced that two further cases had been found in the initial case's home contacts.

This increases the number of Clade Ib mpox cases in Britain to three.

The two patients are under specialist care at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust in London. The UKHSA said the risk to the UK population "remains low".

Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at UKHSA, said: "Mpox is very infectious in households with close contact and so it is not unexpected to see further cases within the same household.

"The overall risk to the UK population remains low. We are working with partners to make sure all contacts of the cases are identified and contacted to reduce the risk of further spread."

The first UK case of the mpox strain was detected in London and made public on October 30.

The infected person had been on holiday in Africa and travelled back to the UK on an overnight flight on October 21.

They developed flu-like symptoms more than 24 hours later and on October 24 they started to develop a rash which worsened over the following days.

The person attended an emergency department in London on October 27, where they were swabbed, tested and sent home to isolate while waiting for the results.

They were then transferred to the Royal Free Hospital high consequence infectious diseases unit for treatment.

The UKHSA said at the time that fewer than 10 people who were thought to have come into contact with the patient had initially being traced.

Mpox spread may occur through direct contact with rash, skin lesions or scabs caused by the virus, including during sexual contact, kissing, cuddling or other skin-to-skin contact.

There is also a risk from contact with bodily fluids such as saliva or mucus; contact with bedding, towels or clothing and a possibility of spread through close and prolonged face-to-face contact such as when talking, breathing, coughing, or sneezing.

Symptoms include skin rash with blisters, spots or ulcers that can appear anywhere on the body, fever, headache, backache and muscle aches.

A rash usually appears one to five days after a fever, headache and other symptoms.