Two new cases of the version of mpox that has fueled a deadly outbreak in central Africa have been detected in Britain, according to the country’s health authorities. But the authorities say that the overall risk of a rapid spread in the country remains low.

Two additional cases of a new strain of mpox have been detected in Britain, national health officials said Monday, less than a week after the first case was announced to the public.

Britain has reported two additional cases of the new mpox variant, clade Ib, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to three, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). The agency said the latest infections were found in household contacts of the first case, who had recently traveled to regions in Africa where mpox is prevalent.

The authorities said the risk of a rapid spread remained low because the new cases had had household contact with the first infected person.

UK Health Security Agency confirms infected patient recently returned from Africa, transferred to Royal Free Hospital in North London - Anadolu Ajansı