A new strain of mpox has been confirmed on American shores after a traveler returned to California from a visit to Africa, but risk to the public remains "very low."

Health officials on Saturday said they've identified the first person in the U.S. infected with an mpox strain that has recently prompted global health alerts over concerns about its spread, severity and transmissibility.

Health officials say they have confirmed the first U.S. case of a new form of mpox that was first seen in eastern Congo

The first case in the U.S. of a more severe strain of monkeypox was reported in San Mateo County, the California Department of Public Health said.

California has reported the first US case of mpox - formerly known as monkeypox - that is part of a new outbreak. The state's department of health, the CDPH, said the new case was from the Clade I strain - different from the Clade II strain that has been in circulation in the US since 2022.

The United States’ first known case of a more severe strain of mpox was confirmed in California, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday. The risk of clade I mpox to the public remains low,