The 4 groups at highest risk of monkeypox revealed as cases set to rise

CASES of monkeypox are rising across the globe with more set to be identified in the coming days.

Last night medical chiefs confirmed a further 36 infections had been recorded in England.

It brings the total to 56, with one case also being reported in Scotland yesterday.

The monkeypox outbreak, now spanning some 20 countries, is mystifying health leaders.

It is endemic in West and Central Africa, but extremely rare elsewhere.

However, between 100 and 200 confirmed and suspected cases have been detected in recent weeks across the world.

The key signs to look out for include a fever and headache, but officials have warned that some groups are more at risk than others when it comes to catching the illness.

The (WHO) says that anyone who has close physical contact with someone who has symptoms of monkeypox, or with an infected animal are at highest risk of infection. 

Official guidance states there are four main groups at risk:

1. Newborns
2. Children
3. People who are immunocompromised
4. Health workers

Medics explained that newborns are at risk - just as they are with other illnesses, due to the fact that their immune systems have not yet been fully formed - meaning they are more susceptible to infection.

They added: "Newborns, children and people with underlying immune deficiencies may be at risk of more serious symptoms and death from monkeypox.

"Health workers are also at higher risk due to longer virus exposure."

Those who are vaccinated against smallpox are likely to have some protection against the monkeypox infection.

Currently people who have been in contact with those infected are being given the vaccine as a precaution.

Experts at the WHO said: "Younger people are unlikely to have been vaccinated against smallpox because smallpox vaccination stopped worldwide after smallpox became the first human disease to be eradicated in 1980.

"Even though people who have been vaccinated against smallpox will have some protection against monkeypox, they also need to take precautions to protect themselves and others."

Health officials have said a notable proportion of cases in the UK and Europe have been in young men who are gay, bisexual or have sex with men.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on May 20 said a number of early cases had been detected in gay and bisexual men.

Because of this, the agency said it is urging this community to be particularly alert.

Dr Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser, UKHSA, said: "Clinicians should be alert to any individual presenting with unusual rashes without a clear alternative diagnosis and should contact specialist services for advice."

'RAPID SPREAD'

However, monkeypox is not considered to be a sexually transmitted infection (STI).

But it can be spread through sexual contact when someone touches the lesions of an infected person.

It can be spread through touching clothing, bedding or towels used by someone with the monkeypox rash.

Coughs and sneezes are also a mode of transmission.

NHS doctor and TV star, Dr Ranj Singh said the global spread is worrying, as there doesn't seem to be a clear connection between travel - suggesting that it is spreading through humans.

Dr Ranj stressed that the high proportion of cases in men who have sex with men does not mean it is a "gay disease".

He told Attitude magazine: "It’s quite possible that the introduction of the virus into networks of MSM who may have multiple intimate contacts has allowed more rapid spread.

"We have to be careful here because this doesn’t mean MSM are at fault at all.

"And we definitely shouldn’t echo the ridiculously inaccurate hysteria of HIV being a ‘gay disease’.

"It may just be that MSM networks have incidentally presented the virus with an ideal storm of conditions in which to multiply.

"So this community should definitely be on increased alert," he told .

The WHO added: "The reason we are currently hearing more reports of cases of monkeypox in communities of men who have sex with men may be because of positive health seeking behaviour in this demographic."