The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed that two more people in London have been diagnosed with monkeypox.
One of the patients is being treated at St Mary’s Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, in London, by an expert infectious disease unit. The other case is isolating and does not require hospital treatment at this time.
This comes after officials from the agency announced on May 7 the first cases of a person who had recently traveled to Nigeria, where he is believed to have contracted the virus before arriving in the UK.
“We have confirmed two new monkeypox cases in England that are not linked to the case announced on May 7,” said Dr Colin Brown, Director of Clinical and Emerging Infections, UKHSA, in a statement.
“It is important to emphasise that it does not spread easily between people and requires close personal contact with an infected symptomatic person. The overall risk to the general public remains very low,” he added.
Monkeypox is a rare viral infection that is difficult to spread between people. It is typically a mild self-limiting illness, with most people recovering in a matter of weeks. Severe illness, on the other hand, can occur in some people.
Monkeypox begins with fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, and exhaustion.
A rash may appear, usually on the face and spreading to other parts of the body, particularly the hands and feet.
The rash changes and progresses through several stages before forming a scab that eventually falls off.
The infection can be passed on through close contact with an infected person, but there is a very low risk of transmission to the general population.
People who have no symptoms are not considered infectious, but as a precaution, those who have been in close proximity to the individuals are being contacted so that if they become ill, they can be treated as soon as possible, according to officials.
The first human case of monkeypox was discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 1970, during a period of increased effort to eradicate smallpox. Monkeypox has since been reported in several other Central and Western African countries.
Cases have been reported outside of Africa in the United States, Israel, and Singapore.
The first human case was reported in the United Kingdom in 2018, and since then, health officials have confirmed a small number of cases.
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