Confirmed monkeypox cases in the UK have more than doubled to 57. The figure, released by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), was an increase from the previously confirmed 20 cases.
A new theory has emerged about the spread of the disease. Professor David Heymann, the World Health Organisation’s former assistant director-general for health security and environment, is reported to have said a leading theory was sexual transmission at raves in Spain and Belgium.
There are 56 confirmed cases in England, and Scotland confirmed its first case on Monday. Northern Ireland’s Public Health Agency and Public Health Wales each said they have had no confirmed cases.
Health officials said that while the outbreak is “significant and concerning”, the risk to the UK population remains low. The Government has stocks of the smallpox vaccine which is being offered to very close contacts of those affected.
Those at the highest risk of contracting the disease are being asked to self-isolate at home for 21 days, with others warned to be on the lookout for symptoms. Transmission between people is occurring in the UK, with a large proportion of cases identified in the gay, bisexual and men who have sex with other men community.
Monkeypox is not normally a sexually transmitted infection, but it can be passed on by direct contact during sex. The Associated Press reported Prof David Heymann, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, as saying: “We know monkeypox can spread when there is close contact with the lesions of someone who is infected, and it looks like sexual contact has now amplified that transmission.”
Experts have warned against “misinformation, stigma and discrimination” around the condition. During a WHO question and answer session, Andy Seale, an adviser with an HIV, hepatitis and STI programme, said: “There are ways that we can work with communities to learn from really decades of experience around tackling stigma and discrimination with HIV. We want to apply that lesson, those lessons learned, to this experience.”
The disease can also be spread through touching clothing, bedding or towels used by someone with the monkeypox rash, and through the coughs and sneezes of somebody with the infection. Monkeypox is usually mild but can cause severe illness in some cases.
Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. A rash can develop, often beginning on the face, which then spreads to other parts of the body including the genitals.
Boris Johnson has said monkeypox is a rare disease but it is important to “keep an eye on it”. The PM told reporters: “It’s basically a very rare disease and so far the consequences don’t seem to be very serious, but it’s important that we keep an eye on it and that’s exactly what the the new UK Health Security Agency is doing.”
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