A person has been diagnosed with monkeypox in England, health bosses confirmed on Saturday - but what are the symptoms of the disease? The patient is receiving care at the expert infectious disease unit at the Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London.
They have a recent travel history from Nigeria, which is where they are believed to have contracted the infection before travelling to the UK. Experts at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) are monitoring the case and working closely with NHS colleagues to contact people who might have been in close contact with the individual.
Dr Colin Brown, director of clinical and emerging infections at the UKHSA, said: “It is important to emphasise that monkeypox does not spread easily between people and the overall risk to the general public is very low. We are working with NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSEI) to contact the individuals who have had close contact with the case prior to confirmation of their infection, to assess them as necessary and provide advice.
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“UKHSA 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.”
What are the symptoms?
Initial symptoms include fever, headache, aching muscles, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. A rash can also then develop, usually starting on the face before spreading to other parts of the body.
It eventually forms a scab that falls off. NHS guidance says if you get infected with monkeypox, it usually takes between 5 and 21 days for the first symptoms to appear.
How can you get monkeypox?
NHS guidelines say the rare infection is mainly spread by wild animals in parts of west or central Africa. The risk of catching it in the UK is very low.
It's very uncommon to get monkeypox from a person with the infection because it does not spread easily between people. But it can be spread through:
- touching clothing, bedding or towels used by someone with the monkeypox rash
- touching monkeypox skin blisters or scabs
- the coughs or sneezes of a person with the monkeypox rash
The first UK case of monkeypox was recorded in September 2018. The individual was also believed to have contracted the infection in Nigeria.
Public Health England said monkeypox does not spread easily and most patients recover within a few weeks, but it can cause severe illness in some people. Dr Nicholas Price, director NHSEI high consequence infection diseases (airborne) network and consultant in infectious diseases at Guy’s and St Thomas’, said: “The patient is being treated in our specialist isolation unit at St Thomas’ Hospital by expert clinical staff with strict infection prevention procedures.
“This is a good example of the way that the high consequence infectious diseases national network and UKHSA work closely together in responding swiftly and effectively to these sporadic cases.” Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if you have symptoms of monkeypox and have recently returned from west or central Africa or if you have been in contact with someone who has monkeypox.
