CDC says person diagnosed with new mpox variant in New York is in isolation

Bengaluru: The U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday that a person diagnosed with clade1b mpox in New York was currently in isolation and that it was trying to identify people who might have come in contact with the patient.

The CDC said the patient's symptoms were improving, without taking any specific treatments for mpox.

The New York State Department of Health confirmed its first case of the new mpox strain on Tuesday, making it the fourth known case in the country. The others were reported in California, Georgia and New Hampshire.

The CDC said the person diagnosed in New York had recently traveled from East Africa and was tested based on travel history and symptoms.

The World Health Organization declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years in August, following an outbreak of the viral infection in the Democratic Republic of Congo and its subsequent spread to neighboring countries.

Mpox is a viral infection that spreads through close contact and typically causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. Although it is usually mild, it can be lethal in some cases.

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)