Monkeypox: Outbreak Toll Hits 90 As Virus Recorded In Wales & Northern Ireland

New cases of monkeypox have been reported in Northern Ireland and Wales, officials said.

Earlier today Northern Ireland and Wales reported their first cases. The UK’s Health Protection Agency said the risk to the general population remains low, despite the increasing number of infections.

The health body officials also said that they have acquired over 20,000 vaccines for the treatment of monkeypox. The smallpox vaccine Imavanex can also be used to treat monkeypox. The body said the vaccine would be offered to identify close contacts of people suffering from monkeypox.

There are now believed to be 81 cases of monkeypox in the UK.

Officials said the ‘majority’ occurred among gay and bisexual men, but did not provide an accurate breakdown. No gender or age details have been shared.

Despite rising cases, health chiefs have insisted the risk to the population remains ‘low’.

However, the UKHSA has asked the public, especially men who have sex with men, to be alert to any new rashes or sores on any part of their body.

Nineteen countries around the world – mainly in Europe – have now detected smallpox-like viruses in the past three weeks. At least 265 infections have been observed across the world.

Infections are usually only found sporadically outside West and Central Africa, where the virus is endemic in animals. Imported outbreaks have always ended naturally after a few cases.

UKHSA Chief Medical Adviser; Dr. Susan Hopkins said new monkeypox cases are being seen ‘immediately’ due to an ‘extensive surveillance and contact tracing network’. The agency is considering an online dashboard that tracks case numbers – a method that sparked controversy during the coronavirus pandemic.

It comes as experts warned today that Britain is unprepared to launch a massive monkeypox vaccination scheme if the current outbreak spiral continues. There are about 5,000 jabs in the UK and has ordered 20,000 more.

Close Contact is the only group being offered the job. But leading scientists have suggested that the next phase could include a rollout for gay and bisexual men, as there is a ‘significant proportion’ of cases in that community.

Some scientists have suggested that the virus may have been spreading quietly in the UK since 2018 and that the current flare-up may have occurred ‘by chance’ after entering a population that is currently in transmission and is increasing.

Ministers are expected to tell people with an unusual rash — a telltale sign of monkeypox — to stay away from their pets. Experts have sounded the alarm that the spread to cats, dogs, and other pets could allow the virus to become endemic among animals in the UK.