Vials of the Jynneos vaccine for mpox are taken from a cooler at a vaccinations site, on August 29, 2022, in Brooklyn, New York. Jeenah Moon/AP

New York (AP) – Two Californians diagnosed with mpox may be the first US cases resulting from the local spread of a different version of the virus, health officials said.

The Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services this week confirmed the first case through testing at a state lab. Los Angeles County health officials on Thursday reported a second, similar case.

The risk to the public is low, officials say.

These are not the US first cases of what is known as clade I mpox. But all six previous cases were among international travelers who were believed to have been infected abroad.

Both infected people in California were hospitalize

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