Urgent warning to anyone attending mass gatherings this weekend over monkeypox threat

BRITS attending mass gatherings at the weekend have been urged to watch out for the key signs of monkeypox.

Cases have continued to soar in the UK, with 1,235 infections now having been detected.

Health officials are set to release an update today on further transmission.

The UK has a larger infection rate than the US, where so far 396 cases have been reported.

London's top public health doctor has warned people to not attend events in the capital this weekend if they have symptoms of the illness.

Pride events are set to run from tonight through to Sunday, with thousands descending on the streets of the city.

Wireless festival also kicks off today at Crystal Palace and many others are also set to gather at Hyde Park to watch the Rolling Stones.

Professor Kevin Fenton told the BBC: "If you think you may have monkeypox – blisters, fevers, swollen glands – please do not go out over the weekend.

"Stay at home and contact NHS 111 or your local sexual health service for advice."

People who have contracted monkeypox will usually start to experience symptoms five to 21 days after initial infection.

In the UK the majority of cases are in London, and one health chief this week urged people to head caution when socialising.

Dr Sophia Makki, incident director at UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said the outbreak in the UK is continuing to grow.

"We expect cases to continue to rise further in the coming days and weeks.

"If you are attending large events over the summer or having sex with new partners, be alert to any monkeypox symptoms so you can get tested rapidly and help avoid passing the infection on.

"Currently the majority of cases have been in men who are gay, bisexual or have sex with men.

"However, anyone who has had close contact with an individual with symptoms is also at increased risk."

Experts are becoming increasingly concerned regarding the outbreak and have warned that the most vulnerable could soon be impacted.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "I'm concerned about sustained transmission because it would suggest the virus establishing itself and it could move into high-risk groups including children, the immunocompromised and pregnant women."

While most people are looking for flu-like signs, a report from the Centre for Disease Control in the US found that people are coming down with unusual symptoms.

These signs include issues with their stools and rashes in the tissue lining the mouth.

Other patients have said rashes have caused them to experience pain in the anus and rectum and in some cases, rectal bleeding has occurred.

Many have also had painful inflammation of the rectal lining - with others experiencing the sensation of having to poo when their bowels are actually empty.

The World Health Organisation's Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "It’s now clear that there is an unusual situation, meaning even the virus is behaving unusually from how it used to behave in the past."

Details from the CDC report state that for some people who have the bug, rashes have been either 'scattered or localised' to a specific part of the body.

However, medics also stated that common flu-like symptoms that often occur with cases of monkeypox 'have not always occurred before the rash if they have occurred at all.'