UK logs another SEVENTY-SEVEN monkeypox cases
UK logs another SEVENTY-SEVEN monkeypox cases as outbreak breaches 300 mark and scientists warn world’s growing outbreak may not fizzle out until NEXT YEAR
Britain has logged another 77 monkeypox cases, bringing the UK total to 302287 cases logged in England, 10 in Scotland, 2 in Northern Ireland and 3 in WalesUK health chiefs have not shared the age, region or gender of those infectedHave you or anyone you know been affected by monkeypox? Email connor.boyd@mailonline.co.uk
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Another 77 people in the UK have been diagnosed with monkeypox, bringing the cumulative number of cases to 302.
Seventy-three of the new patients were in England, with two each in Scotland and Wales, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
No further details have been given but officials said gay and bisexual men ‘remain disproportionately affected’, and London remains the epicentre of the outbreak.
Since the first case was detected on May 6, 287 people have been diagnosed in England, 10 in Scotland, three in Wales and two in Northern Ireland.
Britons who develop a new rash, lesions or blisters are being urged to phone ahead before visiting sexual health clinics, to limit the virus’ spread.
Men who have sex with men, or people returning from western or central Africa who develop symptoms are being told to stay extra vigilant.
It comes as scientific modellers today warned the virus could continue to circulate outside of Africa until next year.
There is also some concern among experts the virus will spill into animal populations and become endemic, as is the case in parts of Africa.
The UK has logged 302 infections, the most out of any other country, followed by Spain (190), Portugal (143), Canada (80) and Germany (66)
Officials are urging gay and bisexual men to be aware of new lesions, rashes or scabs and get in contact with a sexual health clinic
The infection often starts with small bumps that scab over and are contagious
Epidemiologists from research institute RTI International in Washington, DC, modelled the monkeypox outbreak in a simulated population of 50million people. They calculated how the virus would spread if three, 30 or 300 cases (orange, green and red dots) were originally brought into a country and no measures were taken to control its transmission (graph A and D). The team estimated that 18, 118 and 402 people, respectively, would go on to catch monkeypox. But contact tracing cases could drive down transmission by up to 72 per cent (graph B and E) and vaccinating close contacts (graph C and F) would reduce cases by up to 89 per cent
Epidemiologists in Washington DC simulated a monkeypox outbreak in a population of 50million people that was made to mimic a high-income European country.
They calculated how the virus would spread if three, 30 or 300 cases were originally brought into a country and no measures were taken to control its transmission.
The team estimated the initial cases would go onto infect 18, 118 and 402 more people, who would spread the virus further.
Their model estimated the outbreak would go on for 23 to 37 weeks, which would take the current outbreak to up to next January.
Tracing the close contacts of cases could drive down transmission by up to 72 per cent and vaccinating close contacts would reduce cases by up to 89 per cent.
Following both monkeypox curbs could reduce the duration of the outbreak by 60 to 76 per cent, the researchers found.
Both strategies are already being used in the UK.
Writing in a pre-print published online, the US experts said: ‘Our model results align with prior research on monkeypox outbreaks — whether in endemic or nonendemic countries— that demonstrated the low human-to-human transmissibility of the virus and its comparatively low potential to result in large-scale, heavy-burden outbreaks.’
The researchers noted that a ‘strong public health response’ can ‘substantially reduce’ the number of cases and duration of the outbreak.
They agreed that the global public health risk is ‘moderate’ and the virus should be contained ‘fairly rapidly’.
Teams from the UKHSA are contacting high-risk contacts of confirmed cases and advising them to self-isolate at home for three weeks and avoid contact with children.
Officials said they have linked the outbreak back to ‘gay bars, saunas and the use of dating apps in the UK and abroad’. MailOnline revealed last month that the world’s biggest gay dating app Grindr had alerted to users of monkeypox symptoms.
Both confirmed cases and close contacts in the UK are being offered the Imvanex vaccine to form a buffer of immune people around a confirmed case to limit the spread of the disease.
The strategy, known as ring vaccination, has been used in previous monkeypox outbreaks and is also being carried out in some EU countries.
The jab is thought to reduce a person’s chance of catching monkeypox by up to 85 per cent.
Analysis by the UKHSA last week revealed that more than 60 per cent of domestic infections have been among gay and bisexual men.
Almost nine in 10 were based in the epicentre London and only two cases have been women.
Most of the UK’s infections — 87 per cent — were among people aged 20 to 49. And 111 cases are known to be men who have sex with men.
And the majority UK patients caught the virus in the UK rather than abroad.
Monkeypox, first discovered in lab monkeys in the late 1950s, is usually mild but can cause severe illness in some cases.
It can kill up to 10 per cent of people it infects. But the milder strain causing the current outbreak kills one in 100 — similar to when Covid first hit. No monkeypox deaths linked with the ongoing outbreak have yet been reported.
Monkeypox has an incubation period of anywhere up to 21 days, meaning it can take three weeks for symptoms to appear.
Initial 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. The rash can look like chickenpox or syphilis, and scabs can form which then fall off.
More than 900 cases have been reported worldwide. Britain has logged 302 infections, the most out of any other country, followed by Spain (190), Portugal (143), Canada (80) and Germany (66).
The UKHSA last week revealed that around six in 10 cases are among gay and bisexual men, while around nine in 10 have been based in the epicentre London.
Most of the country’s infections were among people aged 20 to 49. And 111 cases are known to be men who have sex with men.
Most of the patients caught the virus in the UK rather than abroad, which is significant because previously the tropical disease was confined to a small number of people with travel links to Africa.
The UKHSA has told people to wear condoms during sex for eight weeks after clearing the virus.
They are also been ordered to abstain from sex or close contact with others ‘until their lesions have healed and the scabs have dried off’.
Experts have warned that monkeypox could spread to pets and wildlife and become endemic in Europe.
In Africa, where monkeypox is well established, the virus is often in rodents including squirrels and dormice.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control have warned 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.
And guidance from the UKHSA and other national health authorities has warned of a potential risk of human-to-animal transmission.
It set out that infected people should have pet guinea pigs, rats and mice removed from their household for three weeks.
And other household pets like cats and dogs should be kept isolated at home but receive regular vet checks to ensure they are not infected.
