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PHE confirms new case of monkeypox in England

Public Health England (PHE) has confirmed a case of monkeypox in England. This is not the first instance of the virus being detected in the UK. Cases of monkeypox in the UK were reported back in September 2018. Risk to the general public in England remains very low.

Monkeypox is a rare viral infection primarily reported in central and west African countries. The spread of infection does not occur easily between people and the condition is usually self-limiting, but few individuals may experience severe illness.

The patient is believed to have contracted monkeypox during a visit to Nigeria. The patient was a resident of south-west England before being shifted to the specialist high-consequence infectious disease centre at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London for appropriate treatment.

Experts from PHE are closely collaborating with their NHS colleagues for implementation of rapid infection control procedures, including contacting individuals who might have been in close contact with the infected person, including co-passengers in close proximity to the patient on the flight to the UK.

Dr Meera Chand, Consultant Microbiologist at Public Health England has clarified that "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."


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