China announced today that it recorded five outbreaks of the new variant of mpox but assured that the hearth “effectively curtailed.”

This viral disease manifests itself mainly with a high fever and the appearance of skin lesions.

The disease, which was confined to about a dozen African countries after its discovery in the 1970s, has spread in 2022 to the rest of the world, including developed countries.

The World Health Organization declared its highest level of alert for the outbreak of mpox, previously known as monkeypox, in August and raised it again in November, with the number of cases and countries affected by the disease continuing to rise. to increase.

China had announced at the time that it would test people entering its territory for six months.

However, Chinese health authorities announced today that they had discovered an outbreak of mpox with the new mutated strain of the virus, called clade 1bthe source of which is believed to be a man who had resided in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The virus was isolated from four people who had contact with this patient, and who showed mild symptoms, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.

“People who were infected and those in the risk group are being treated and monitored by doctors and the outbreak is being effectively controlled,” the same source added.

No other cases have been identified to date in their environment, the center added.