China has detected the new mutated strain of the mpox virus for the first time, as the pathogen spreads to more geographies after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak in Africa a new global health emergency last year.

The Chinese government on Thursday said it recorded five cases of a new Mpox strain, stating that the outbreak has been effectively handled. DAILY POST reports that Mpox is caused by a virus transmitted to humans by animals but can also spread from person to person through close physical contact,

Chinese health authorities said on Thursday they had detected the new mutated mpox strain clade Ib as the viral infection spreads to more countries after the World Health Organization declared a global public health emergency last year.

China has detected the new mutated clade 1b strain of mpox for the first time as the outbreak, declared a global health emergency by the WHO, continues to spread. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday that the source of the “cluster outbreak” was a foreigner who had lived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

French health officials announced on Tuesday its first case of a dangerous new strain of the mpox virus that has created havoc in central Africa.

China has recently identified a cluster of clade Ib mpox infections, with the source of the infection being traced to a foreign traveler who had visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said in an online release on Thursday.

WHO declared mpox a global public health emergency for the 2nd time in 2 years, following an outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo that spread to neighbouring countries