The agency emphasized that monkeypox is a rare viral
infection that doesn’t spread easily between people. For most, it is a mild
disease that disappears within a few weeks but some can develop severe illness.
The patient who has been diagnosed with monkeypox had
recently arrived in the UK from Nigeria, and is being treated at the infectious
disease isolation unit of Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospital in Central London.
“As a precautionary measure, UKHSA experts are working
closely with NHS colleagues and will be contacting people who might have been
in close contact with the individual to provide information and health advice,”
the UKHSA said.
The agency considers the overall risk to the general public
“very low.”
Monkeypox is similar to human smallpox, which was eradicated
in 1980, and can be confused with chickenpox. Its initial symptoms include
fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and
exhaustion. A rash often begins on the face and then spreads to other parts of
the body.
According to the UK National Health Service (NHS), monkeypox
can be caught from infected wild animals in parts of West and Central Africa.
“It’s thought to be spread by rodents, such as rats, mice
and squirrels,” the NHS says.
Only a few people have been diagnosed with monkeypox in the
UK and all of them traveled to West Africa or were close contacts of someone
who had traveled there.
A 2003 monkeypox outbreak in the United States was traced to
a pet store where small mammals from Ghana were sold.
Although monkeypox is generally milder than smallpox, the
death rate among infected people in Africa can be as high as 10%, according to
the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
There is currently no cure for the virus, although the
smallpox vaccine is believed to prevent infection, according to the NHS and
CDC.