UK monkeypox cases triple in 3 days to 57
MONKEYPOX cases in the UK have almost tripled in three days, it was announced yesterday.
Another 37 cases were confirmed in addition to the 20 already identified, taking the total to 57.
It came as European health officials warned there was a risk the virus could spread to pets and wildlife and become endemic on the Continent.
As of yesterday, there were 67 confirmed cases of monkeypox in nine European countries, including Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, Sweden and France, and at least 42 suspected cases. The patients are primarily gay and bisexual men.
Professor David Heymann, a global health expert at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the leading theory explaining the spread of the disease was sexual behaviour at two raves in Belgium and Spain.
He said: ‘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.’ A rapid risk-assessment published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said pet rodents, such as rats and mice, should ideally be isolated in ‘monitored facilities’ if they belong to close contacts of infected people.
In Africa, where monkeypox is endemic, or well established, the virus is often found in rodents, including squirrels and dormice.
The ECDC said rodents and squirrels could be ‘suitable hosts’ and a ‘spill-over event’, where the virus spreads from people to pets to wildlife, could see monkeypox become endemic in Europe.
However, it said the probability of this happening was ‘very low’.
Andrea Ammon, director of the ECDC, added: ‘Most of the current cases have presented with mild disease symptoms, and for the broader population the likelihood of spread is very low.’
Symptoms include fever, backache, swollen lymph nodes and exhaustion. A rash often begins on the face and blisters can appear.
Until this month there had been only eight reported cases in the UK since 2018, all of which were linked to travel from Nigeria.
Yesterday Scotland reported its first case, with 56 now in England, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). It is an increase from 20 UK cases on Friday.
Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UKHSA, thanked people affected for coming forward, saying they are ‘helping us limit the spread of this infection’.
She added: ‘Because the virus spreads through close contact, we are urging everyone to be aware of any unusual rashes or lesions and to contact a sexual health service if they have any symptoms.’
Anyone who has spent at least one night under the same roof as an infectious person is being advised to self-isolate for three weeks.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said yesterday: ‘So far the consequences don’t seem to be very serious, but it’s important that we keep an eye on it.’
Smallpox vaccines, which offer protection against monkeypox, are being made available to close contacts. But the PM’s spokesman said there were no plans for an ‘at-scale’ jabs programme.