Monkeypox has been improved to the same category as diseases, including plague and leprosy, and doctors must notify health authorities just in case.
As of Wednesday, it will be a legal requirement for doctors to inform the local council or healthcare team if they suspect a patient has the virus, while laboratories must notify the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) if the test is positive.
The move raises monkeypox to the same legal status as 33 other diseases – including leprosy, malaria, rabies, plague and yellow fever – which have been identified as “notifiable” under UK health protection regulations.
Covid-19 was first declared a disease on March 5, 2020, before the UK entered the blockade. But Dr Megan Cal, an epidemiologist at UKHSA, said the latest move had no “direct link to [disease control] measures ”and should not be construed as a precursor to coronavirus-like restrictions.
“It simply means that clinicians and laboratories have a legal requirement to report cases,” she told The Telegraph. “We need to monitor cases of surveillance and [epidemiological] goals. ”
The change also means that all foreign visitors who are diagnosed or treated for monkeypox will be exempt from fees.
“This is important because the cost of access to NHS testing and treatment can be a huge barrier and stop people from moving forward – increasing the risk of transmission,” added Dr. Cal.
This comes amid growing concerns about the global spread of monkeypox outside West and Central Africa, where the disease is endemic. Since the beginning of May, more than 1,100 confirmed and suspected infections have been detected in 40 countries – including 302 in the United Kingdom.
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