China has detected the new mutated strain of the mpox virus for the first time, as the pathogen spreads to more geographies after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak in Africa a new global health emergency last year.

France has identified its first case of the new mpox variant, news agency AFP reported on Monday, citing a statement from the country's health ministry.

France's health ministry confirmed its first case of a new mpox virus. The detection comes just weeks after the World Health Organization upheld its highest alert level in response to the ongoing epidemic.

France reported its first case of a new strain of mpox that has ravaged Central Africa over the past year, in a patient who had not travelled to the hotspot region. The patient in the French region of Brittany had been in contact with two people who travelled from Central Africa.