Patient diagnosed with monkeypox on return to UK from Nigeria, health officials confirm
A PERSON in the UK has been diagnosed with the rare viral infection monkeypox, Public Health England (PHE) has said.
The patient, who was staying in the South West of England, is believed to have contracted the infection while visiting Nigeria.
They have been transferred to the specialist high consequence infectious disease centre at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, where they are receiving appropriate care.
Health officials say they are working closely with NHS colleagues to implement rapid infection control procedures, including contacting people who might have been in close contact with the individual to provide information and health advice.
This includes contacting passengers who travelled in close proximity to the patient on the same flight to the UK.
PHE said that if passengers are not contacted, then there is no action they should take.
Rare virus
Monkeypox is a rare viral infection that does not spread easily between people and the risk to the general public in England is very low, officials said.
They added: "It is usually a self-limiting illness and most people recover within a few weeks. However, severe illness can occur in some individuals."
Dr Meera Chand, consultant microbiologist at PHE, said: “Monkeypox does not spread easily between people and the overall risk to the general public is very low.
"We are following up with those who have had close contact with the patient to offer advice and to monitor them as necessary.
"PHE and the NHS have well established and robust infection control procedures for dealing with cases of imported infectious disease and these will be strictly followed to minimise the risk of transmission.”
More cases possible
Prof Jimmy Whitworth, professor of international public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: “Monkeypox is a viral infection that causes flu-like symptoms and a blistering rash.
"Most infections are mild and patients recover fully although severe infections and even deaths have been known.
"I understand the patient had recently been in Nigeria where there has been a widespread outbreak of monkeypox in progress since 2017.
The infection is not easily transmitted between people, although there was a health worker in close contact with one of the cases who became infected last year
Prof Jimmy Whitworth
"The infection is not easily transmitted between people, although there was a health worker in close contact with one of the cases who became infected last year.
"The key public health measures are to isolate the patient and to identify and follow up any close contacts.
"These are being done by the NHS and Public Health England so the risk to the general public is extremely low.
"It is possible that additional cases will be identified from amongst the contacts of this case, or in other travellers returning from countries in Africa where the infection occurs.”
Previous cases
In September last year, a Nigerian naval officer travelled to Britain on a commercial fight after contracting the disease.
He stayed at a Royal Navy base in Cornwall while taking part in a training exercise before being confirmed to have monkeypox.
MONKEYPOX: Signs of the deadly disease
MONKEYPOX is a virus that can prove fatal - especially if young and old fall sick.
It's similar to smallpox, the highly-contagious and deadly disease that was eradicated in the 80s.
But monkeypox is still wide spread in villages of Central and West Africa.
It's more prevalent in areas close to tropical rainforests where there is frequent contact with infected animals.
The disease doesn't pass easily from person-to-person, making a human outbreak unlikely.
Symptoms:
The symptoms of monkeypox last for about 14 to 21 days, they include:
- fever
- intense headache
- swollen lymph nodes
- back pain
- muscle aches
- intense lack of energy
- lesions on the face that spread to the rest of the body
The lesions eventually turn into pus-filled blisters before they scab over.
Treatment:
There are no specific treatments or vaccines for monkeypox, but outbreaks can be controlled.
Vaccination against smallpox has been proven to be 85 per cent effective in preventing monkeypox in the past.
But the vaccine is no longer available to the general public after smallpox was eradicated.
Source: World Health Organisation
PHE contacted more than 50 passengers on the plane who were sat close to the man to warn they may have been exposed to the infection.
The following week officials revealed a second patient was being treated at a hospital in Liverpool, but they insisted the two cases were not linked.
Shortly after that, a hospital worker in Blackpool was thought to have caught the potentially fatal virus while changing bedding.
The healthcare assistant, 40, blamed “pathetically small” NHS gloves for failing to protect her.
Medics also feared the woman’s partner, 50, had the disease after his face broke out in spots.
The hospital worker — a married mum of one from Fleetwood, Lancs — was the third person to be diagnosed with the virus in the UK, but the first to be infected here.
All three patients are believed to have recovered.
Virus transfer
The disease can be transmitted to humans from animals, but the risk to the wider public is thought to be low.
Monkeypox has a mortality rate of between one and 10 per cent.
Transfer of the virus is usually only possible through close physical contact.
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Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion.
A painful rash and open sores can develop, usually starting on the face. If the rash spreads to the eyes it can cause blindness.
Monkeypox was first observed in the 1960s in monkeys. The first human case was diagnosed in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.