Another Monkeypox Case in the UK

Public Health England (PHE) announced it has confirmed a new case of monkeypox has been diagnosed in a person living in England.

PHE initially reported a monkeypox case in the UK during September 2018.

On December 4, 2019, PHE said in a statement that ‘the risk to the general public in England of monkeypox spreading is very low.’

This risk is low because monkeypox is transmitted to people from the bite of various wild animals. This new UK patient is believed to have contracted the monkeypox infection while visiting Nigeria.

The patient was staying in southwest England prior to transferring to the specialist high consequence infectious disease center at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London.

As a precautionary measure, PHE experts are working closely with NHS colleagues to implement rapid infection control procedures, including contacting people who might have been in close contact with the individual to provide information and health advice.

This includes contacting passengers who traveled in close proximity to the patient on the same flight to the UK. 

If these passengers are not contacted, then there is no action they should take, says PHE.

PHE and the NHS said they ‘have well established and robust infection control procedures for dealing with cases of imported infectious disease and these will be strictly followed to minimize the risk of transmission.’

Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by the monkeypox virus and has been reported mainly in central and west African countries. Monkeypox, in most cases, is a mild condition that will resolve on its own and have no long-term effects on a person’s health, says PHE.

Initial monkeypox symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, and exhaustion. 

A rash can develop, often beginning on the face, then spreading to other parts of the body. The rash changes and goes through different stages before finally forming a scab, which later falls off.

Monkeypox vaccine news

• Nigeria Travel Alert Issued for Monkeypox Virus Outbreak
• Singapore Aggressively Confronts 1st Monkeypox Case

In 2003, the USA experienced a monkeypox outbreak, which was the 1st time human monkeypox was reported outside of the African continent, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Forty-seven confirmed and probable cases of monkeypox were reported by Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

Initially, scientists at the Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wisconsin, recovered a virus resembling a poxvirus from one of the first patients and the patient’s pet prairie dog. 

Laboratory tests at CDC—including several PCR-based assays looking for poxvirus DNA, electron microscopy, and gene sequencing—confirmed that the agent causing the illnesses was monkeypox virus.

During the 2003 U.S. monkeypox outbreak, the CDC’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices advised certain people to get the smallpox vaccine.

Monkeypox vaccine news published by Vax Before Travel