Long Beach health officials Wednesday were continuing to investigate the infection of a resident with a more severe strain of mpox — the first known case of the disease in the country involving a patient without any history of travel.

The unidentified patient is the first person confirmed in Long Beach to have acquired clade I mpox, and only the seventh person nationally. The person was hospitalized but is now isolating and recovering at home, according to the city Department of Health and Human Services.

Clade I mpox is a more serious strain of mpox that clade II, which led to a 2022-23 mpox outbreak in the United States. Clade I generally causes more severe illness. Symptoms can include rash or lesions, fever, chills, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes and body aches.

“While the overall

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