Sacramento, California - Health authorities in California on Saturday reported the first known case of a person infected with a new, contagious strain of mpox in the US.

The case was confirmed by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) in a person who recently travelled to the US from Eastern Africa and is related to an ongoing outbreak of clade I mpox in the area.

"The individual is isolating at home and the risk to the public remains very low," the CDPH said in a statement, adding that "there is no concern or evidence that mpox clade I is currently spreading between individuals in California or the United States."

Clade I mpox has recently been identified for the first time in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya.

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"Although clade II mpox has been circulating in the United States since 2022, clade I mpox has never been reported in the United States before now," said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Mpox is transmitted primarily through close skin-to-skin contact, such as sex, hugging, massaging and kissing.

Symptoms of mpox include a typical skin rash and often general symptoms of illness such as fever, headache, and muscle aches. Fatal courses are rare, especially in countries where people have access to good treatment.

There have been cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya in recent months and people from Sweden, India, Thailand, and Germany have been infected abroad.