A patient is being treated in a specialist ward in London after being diagnosed with monkeypox, a rare viral infection.
The person recently traveled to Nigeria, where he is believed to be infected, the UK’s Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said on Saturday. They are being treated in the isolation ward of the Guy and St. Thomas Infectious Diseases Unit.
Although monkeypox can spread during close contact with an infected person, the agency said it does not spread easily and most people recover in a few weeks.
As a precautionary measure, UKHSA said its experts work closely with the NHS and will contact those who may have had close contact with the person, including some passengers who have been on the same flight.
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Early symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. A rash can also develop, usually starting from the face before spreading to other parts of the body. The rash goes through various conditions until it forms a crust that falls off.
Dr Colin Brown, Director of Clinical and Emerging Infections at UKHSA, said: “It is important to emphasize that monkeypox is not easily spread among humans and the overall risk to the general public is very low.
He added: “The UKHSA and NHS have well-established and robust infection control procedures to deal with cases of imported infectious diseases and they will be strictly followed.
Dr. by expert clinical staff with strict infection prevention procedures. “
The NHS said the infection could be caught from infected wildlife in parts of West and Central Africa and is thought to be spread by rodents.
Only a few people have been diagnosed with monkeypox in the UK, all of whom have traveled to West Africa or been in close contact with someone who has been.
According to information from Public Health England (the agency that replaced UKHSA last year), smallpox was first discovered in 1958 when outbreaks of “smallpox-like disease” were discovered in monkeys captive. The first human case was reported in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
It has since been said that most cases have been reported by the DRC and Nigeria, but there are a few more.
In 2003, human and domestic prairie dogs were reported in the United States after rodents were imported from Africa.
In December 2019, a patient was diagnosed with monkeypox in England, which according to PHE is the fourth case diagnosed in the United Kingdom since the first imported cases last year. There are also cases in Israel and Singapore.
This article was amended on 7 May 2022 to clarify that public health in England was replaced by the UKHSA in 2021.
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