BREAKING: A rare strain of mpox has been detected in a returning traveler at Logan Hospital, south of Brisbane, prompting urgent contact tracing by health officials. Queensland authorities have confirmed that 19 community contacts and 40 hospital staff may have been exposed to the man, who recently returned from Africa.
The patient was diagnosed with the rare Clade 1 mpox strain after presenting symptoms at the hospital. Fortunately, health officials report that he was not contagious during his flight to Australia.
“Those close contacts that he has been in contact with, including at the emergency ward and in other locations, are being contact traced right now,”
stated Health Minister Tim Nicholls on Sunday.
The man’s family, which includes children in high school, primary school, and childcare, is currently asymptomatic but is in isolation as a precaution. Institutions attended by the children are also being identified for contact tracing, raising concerns about wider community exposure.
Health officials are monitoring the situation closely, noting that while they do not expect community contacts to increase significantly, the number of hospital contacts could grow. The contagion window for mpox is defined as extending from four days before the onset of symptoms until after skin lesions have crusted over, according to Dr. Geoffrey Playford from Metro South Hospital Service.
Mpox typically manifests with mild symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, and fatigue, followed by a skin rash or lesions. There have been 135 cases of Clade 2 mpox reported in Queensland over the past year, but Clade 1 has only been detected in Australia once before, in May 2023.
Health authorities emphasize that mpox does not easily spread between individuals and primarily occurs through close or intimate contact. At-risk groups include sexually active gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men and their partners. Vaccination is strongly recommended for travelers heading to regions where the Clade 1 variant is circulating, particularly in Central Africa.
Vaccines for pre- and post-exposure to mpox are available free of charge through sexual health clinics and general practitioners. A complete vaccination regimen includes two doses for optimal protection.
The mpox outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organisation in August 2024. It was first detected in Australia in 2022, with cases surging to over 1,400 in 2024, as reported by Australia’s National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System.
As authorities continue their contact tracing efforts, residents are urged to stay vigilant and report any symptoms. This situation is developing rapidly, and updates will follow as more information becomes available.
