The truth about the outbreak of monkeypox in the UK, which warns experts to expect “a handful” of more cases

Global health experts said Britain may report more than “a handful” Monkeypox Cases after the virus was detected in Japan.

In the last two weeks, three infections have been identified. Prior to 2022, there were only seven known cases, even though the virus was detected in humans over 50 years ago.

Dr. Michael Head of the University of Southampton warns that the condition can be “very serious” for contractors and that mortality can fluctuate between 1 and 15 percent depending on the outbreak. bottom.

But he said that low transmission rates mean less risk to the general public.

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on weekends We confirmed that two more cases were identified. With one of the individuals being treated by a specialist at St Mary’s Hospital in London.

The announcement came a little over a week after it was discovered that passengers traveling from Nigeria to the United Kingdom were infected with the virus.

Dr. Head, a senior research fellow at Global Health, told Miller that a series of recent incidents was not a cause of caution.

He states: “It is expected that occasional incidents will occur here and there.

“There was a couple in the middle of last year.

“This particular virus isn’t easy to spread, so it’s not as outbreak as Covid.

“In that respect, it’s a bit like Lassa fever.”

Earlier this year, the director of health confirmed that there were three cases of Lassa fever, including one death associated with a trip to Mali.

However, due to the low infection rate of the virus, the outbreak is believed to have been effectively contained, Dr. Head said.

He believes that people who have recently been infected with monkeypox may have come into contact with rats or mice that carry the virus because of the rare human-to-human transmission.

Dr. Head said: “The virus is common in rodents.

“If you are in close contact with rodents or infected secretions that can infect monkeypox. Usually that is the way to get infected.”

Symptoms of the virus include fever, headache, muscle aches, lower back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills, and malaise.

It also appears in the rash, often starting on the face and before spreading to other parts of the body, especially the hands and feet.

In most cases, people recover within 4 weeks and the rash forms a scab and later sheds.

According to virologists, it can be fatal in a small number of cases.

Dr. Head said: “The mortality rate varies from 1 percent to 15 percent, depending on the outbreak and the country you are looking at.

“It’s a potentially serious situation.”

He said contact tracing is effective in containing the virus.

“There may be a handful of cases, but we won’t see any spreads across the country,” Dr. Head said.

“It won’t happen here.”

There are 10 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the UK.

On Saturday, UKHSA said two people in the same household were found to be infected with the virus. One of them did not require hospital treatment and was quarantined at home.

Authorities said they were investigating where and how the infection was acquired.

A patient who traveled from Nigeria to the United Kingdom two weeks ago Was being treated for monkeypox At Guys and St. Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, London.

According to UKSHA, this has nothing to do with the last two cases.

The Nigerian Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that 558 cases of monkeypox and 8 deaths were reported between 2017 and 2022.

Dr. Emmett Brown, Director of Clinical and Emerging Infectious Diseases at UKHSA, said:

“While investigations to identify the source of infection are ongoing, it is important to emphasize that the source of infection is difficult to spread to humans and requires close personal contact with infected symptomatic individuals. The overall risk to the public remains very low.

“We are in contact with potential close contact with the case, and we are working with the NHS to contact medical personnel who have been in close contact with the case prior to confirmation of the infection and, if necessary, them. Evaluate and provide advice.

“UKHSA and NHS have well-established and strong infection control procedures for dealing with cases of imported infectious diseases, which are strictly adhered to.”

It turns out that a person who traveled to Delta, Nigeria last year has monkeypox with his family of two.

Prior to that, UKHSA said there were a total of three cases, two in September 2018 and one in December 2019, and some in 2018 related to contaminated bed linen.

Cases in the United Kingdom are rare, and viral infections (first discovered in humans in 1970) are the most prevalent in parts of West Africa and Central Africa.

Most often, it causes a mild illness, usually following a fever, usually with a rash on the face.

It was first discovered in the monkey colony of the modern Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1958, and the first human case was identified in 1970.

Most often, it is a “mild self-limitation” illness, and experts say that the majority of people recover within a few weeks.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, monkeypox has been shown to kill 1 in 10 patients in Africa.

The CDC states: “In humans, the symptoms of monkeypox are similar to those of smallpox, but mild.

“Monkeypox begins with fever, headache, muscle aches, and malaise.

“The main difference between the symptoms of smallpox and monkeypox is that smallpox causes swelling of the lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy), but smallpox does not swell. The latency period of monkeypox (time from infection to symptoms) ) Is usually 7 to 14 days, but ranges from 5 to 14 days. 21 days. “