Health
Something new coming out of West Africa, MonkeyPox investigation launched in UK
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#UnitedKingdom, May 19, 2022 – Urgent investigations are now underway to determine whether or not Monkeypox is possibly already in the community spread phase in the UK.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reported the first case on May 7th from a patient who recently traveled to Nigeria and a second on May 14th but now four new cases have popped up in and around London with no known connection to either of these cases and no link to a country where the virus is endemic.
This is a cause for concern, UKHSA says. Dr. Susan Hopkins UKHSA’s Chief Medical Advisor said, “This is rare and
The four patients are all men and all have the West African clade of the virus which is the milder version. It doesn’t spread easily between people and the risk of outbreak is low. At least two of the cases have common contacts and all of the cases are men who identify as gay or bisexual. It is important to note that the virus is not partial to any one sexual group or gender.
The virus is spread by close contact however and UKHSA is urging these vulnerable groups to be aware of any monkeypox symptoms they may experience.
These may include, “fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. A rash can develop, often beginning on the face, then spreading to other parts of the body including the genitals. The rash changes and goes through different stages, and can look like chickenpox or syphilis, before finally forming a scab, which later falls off.”
Even though monkeypox has occurred in primates there is no concrete evidence of which animal naturally carries the virus. Previously cases of Monkeypox have occurred in the US and UK because of international travel or imported exotic animals.