Monkeypox virus: UK issues fresh guidelines amid fear of community transmission
PremiumMonkeypox virus: On May 30, the UKHSA said that community transmission was occurring in the UK.
People sick with monkeypox virus can isolate themselves at home if they are well enough, while taking precautions to avoid close contact with others, the UK's health security agency (UKHSA) stated on May 30, as part of new recommendations aimed at reducing the country's viral illness epidemic. In May, more than 300 suspected and confirmed cases of monkeypox virus were recorded. Monkeypox virus disease is a typically mild illness that spreads through close contact and can cause flu-like symptoms and pus-filled skin blisters.
The majority of cases have occurred in Europe rather than in the endemic Central and West African countries where the virus is found, and are mostly unrelated to travel. As a result, scientists are investigating what could be causing this extraordinary increase in instances.
On May 30, the UKHSA said that community transmission was occurring in the UK, and that affected people should avoid contact with others until their sores have healed and the scabs have dried, as well as refrain from sex as soon as symptoms develop.
Although no evidence of monkeypox virus spreading through sexual excretions has been found, those afflicted with the virus are encouraged to use condoms for eight weeks following infection as a precaution, according to the CDC. Direct contact with someone who has monkeypox virus poses the greatest risk of transmission, but the overall risk to the UK population remains minimal, according to Ruth Milton, senior medical advisor and monkeypox strategic response director at UKHSA.
The agency, which is offering a vaccine to close contacts of cases, has procured more than 20,000 doses of a smallpox vaccine made by Bavarian Nordic.
The smallpox and monkeypox virus are closely related.
(With Reuters inputs)