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The UK Health Security Agency said monkeypox would be designated as a notifiable infectious disease from Wednesday, meaning doctors in England will have to notify local authorities when they suspect a patient has the virus.
"Rapid diagnosis and reporting is the key to interrupting transmission and containing any further spread of Monkeypox," Wendi Shepherd, Monkeypox incident director at UKHSA, said in a statement.
"This new legislation will support us and our health partners to swiftly identify, treat and control the disease."
(Writing by William Schomberg; editing by William James)