Hospital staff isolating after coming into contact with monkeypox patient

CHELSEA and Westminster Hospital has said “around 10” staff in its sexual health clinic are self-isolating at home after coming into close contact with a patient with monkeypox, the BBC reports.

The news comes as another 16 cases of the rare virus have been detected in England in the past week, bringing the total number of infections in the UK to 101.

Staff dealing with the virus in clinics must now follow strict

PPE requirements to help stop the spread of monkeypox, which causes a rash and fever.

Anyone who is at high risk of having caught the disease – such as a close contact – will be asked to isolate at home for up to 21 days.

You are most likely to catch monkeypox from infected wild animals in parts of West and Central Africa, but the virus has recently begun to spread around the world, with about 100 confirmed cases recorded globally so far.

Health experts are quick to stress that this is not like the coronavirus pandemic in that the overall risk remains low and it is within their power to contain the disease.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) emerging disease lead Maria Van Kerkhove said the outbreaks across Europe and North America are “containable” and human-tohuman transmission can be stopped.

The virus does not usually spread easily between people, but it can be passed on by close contact such as touching clothing or bedding used by someone with a monkeypox rash, touching monkeypox blisters or scabs, or the coughs or sneezes of a patient.

People are being urged to look out for any unusual rashes and contact their doctor or sexual health service if they have symptoms.

According to the NHS, symptoms include:

■ ■ A high temperature

■ ■ A headache

■ ■ Muscle aches

■ ■ Backache

■ ■ Swollen glands

■ ■ Shivering (chills)

■ ■ Exhaustion

A rash usually appears one to five days after the first symptoms.