Australia Races to Trace Mpox Contacts After Rare Strain Detected

Health officials fear hospital exposure could rise as overseas traveller diagnosed

Authorities in Queensland are urgently tracing potential contacts after a rare strain of mpox was identified in a traveller recently returned from Africa, raising concerns about wider exposure.

Potential Exposure Sites Identified

Health officials are working to identify 19 community members and 40 hospital staff who may have been exposed to the rare Clade 1 mpox strain. The diagnosis was made after the individual presented at Logan Hospital, south of Brisbane. Thankfully, the traveller was not considered contagious during their flight to Australia.

Tim Nicholls, Health Minister, stated on Sunday, “Those close contacts that he has been in contact, including at the emergency ward and in other locations, are being contact traced right now and identified at this stage.”

The patient’s family, including children attending high school, primary school, and childcare centres, are currently asymptomatic but isolating. Officials anticipate the number of community contacts may not increase, but hospital-related exposures could still grow.

Understanding Mpox Transmission

Mpox is a viral illness typically presenting with symptoms like fever, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes, often followed by a distinctive rash. The period of contagion is defined as four days prior to symptom onset until the skin lesions have completely crusted over, according to Dr Geoffrey Playford of Metro South Hospital Service.

While Clade 2 mpox has seen 135 cases in Queensland over the past year, Clade 1 is exceptionally rare in Australia, with only one previous instance detected in a returning traveller in New South Wales in May. The disease does not spread easily, primarily occurring through very close or intimate contact.

Risk Groups and Prevention

The groups identified at higher risk include sexually active gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, along with their partners. Health advice recommends vaccination for individuals travelling to areas where Clade 1 mpox circulates, particularly in Central Africa and neighbouring countries, and who anticipate sexual contact.

Vaccinations for both pre- and post-exposure to mpox are available free of charge through sexual health clinics and general practitioners, offering effective protection with two doses. The World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern in August 2024. Australia first detected the virus in 2022, with cases peaking at over 1400 in 2024, as per the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System. For comparison, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported over 32,000 mpox cases globally during the 2022-2023 outbreak.