Monkeypox contacts advised to isolate for 21 days, UKHSA says

20 cases have been confirmed in the UK so far

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has advised that anyone who has had direct or household contact with a confirmed case of monkeypox should isolate for 21 days.

Contacts are advised to provide their details for contact tracing, should not travel and should avoid contact with immunosuppressed people, pregnant women, and children under 12.

Monkeypox is a rare disease which is most common in remote parts of Central and West Africa, and was first found in monkeys.

It does not tend to spread easily between people but can be transmitted through close physical contact, including sexual intercourse.

A notable proportion of the cases in the UK have been detected in gay and bisexual men, and there is a particular effort for members of these communities to be vigilant and aware.

It is important to know that monkeypox is transmitted through close contact. The strain in the UK has a low mortality rate and most people make a full recovery.

Here’s a primer from @56deanstreet: https://t.co/ep8HpaxzBp (2/2)

— Stonewall (@stonewalluk) May 20, 2022

Symptoms include fever, a headache, chills, exhaustion, aches and swollen lymph nodes. Most notably, a rash spreads from the face across the body for around five days.

Direct contact with scabs can also spread the virus, as can inhaling droplets when a person with rash coughs or sneezes.

Recovery usually takes a few weeks after receiving specialist treatment, and the mortality rate is between 1 and 10 per cent, with young people affected the most.

So far, the World Health Organisation has not reported any deaths outside of west and central Africa. A small number of deaths related to the virus have been recorded in this region since the end of December.

Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser for UKHSA, told the BBC that community transmission was occurring in the UK, with cases being found that have “no identified contact with an individual from west Africa.”