New Hampshire MPOX imported case

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services has reported a Mpox clade I infection in a resident who returned from a trip to East Africa. The patient is currently self-isolating and no longer poses a risk to the public. This is the first case of Mpox clade I to be diagnosed in New Hampshire, and the third such case in the United States, according to a statement by the department. Close contacts are being traced to facilitate preventative vaccination and monitoring for symptoms, as per epidemiologist Benjamin Chan. Mpox is a disease caused by two genetically distinct types of the Mpox virus: clade I and clade II. Clade II Mpox has continued to circulate, though at a low level, in the US since a widespread outbreak in 2022, while recently clade I Mpox has caused epidemics in central and eastern Africa. The transmission of both virus types occurs primarily through direct physical contact with a person exhibiting symptoms of Mpox or via contact with contaminated objects. The principal symptom of Mpox is an infectious skin rash, which may be accompanied by additional symptoms such as fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle aches, sore throat, or swollen lymph nodes. However, health authorities have asserted that the probability of Mpox spreading within the population remains low.