The UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) said an isolated case of monkeypox has been identified in London after a man returned from Africa, adding that the risk to the general population remains low.
The infected patient was on holiday in Africa and returned to Britain on an overnight flight on October 21. He developed flu-like symptoms more than 24 hours later, and on 24 October the man began to develop a rash that worsened over the following days.
On October 27 he went to the emergency department in London where he was swabbed, tested and sent home on isolation pending the results. He has now been transferred to a severe infectious diseases unit.
The UKHSA says it has identified fewer than 10 people believed to have had contact with the patient. These are household contacts, although the agency is “still working” on the number of people who may need to be traced. The monkeypox virus is only spread between humans through close contact.
On October 22, Germany confirmed its first case of the Clade 1b strain of monkeypox.
On September 13, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the MVA-BN vaccine from manufacturer Bavarian Nordic as the first against monkeypox to be added to the pre-qualification list.
At least 1,000 deaths from the virus have been recorded in Africa. It is widespread in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and cases have also been reported in Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Sweden and India.
