The UK government has confirmed a monkey pox infection in an unidentified individual who traveled from Nigeria to England.
The infection, which was reported by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)it is believed to have been contracted in Nigeria before the patient arrived in the UK.
Without disclosing the patient’s identity, the UKHSA, in a post on the UK government’s official website, said on Saturday that the patient is receiving care in an infectious disease unit.
He added that experts in collaboration with colleagues from the National Health Service (NHS) in England are working together to contact people who have been close to patients to reduce a possible spread of infection.
“The patient is receiving care in the infectious disease expert unit at St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London.
“As a precautionary measure, UKHSA experts are working closely with NHS colleagues and will be reaching out to people who might have come in close contact with the individual to provide information and health advice.
“This includes contacting multiple passengers who traveled in close proximity to the patient on the same flight to the UK. People without symptoms are not considered infectious but, as a precaution, those who have been in close proximity are being contacted to ensure that if they do get sick, they can be treated quickly. If passengers are not contacted, then there is no action for them to take.”
Confirming the development, Nicholas Price, 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 how the National High Impact Infectious Diseases Network and the UKHSA are working closely together to respond quickly and effectively to these sporadic cases.”
More about the infection
Director of Clinical and Emerging Infections at UKHSA, Colin Brown, further explained that “Monkeypox is a rare viral infection that does not spread easily between people. It is usually a mild self-limited illness, and most people recover within a few weeks. However, serious illness can occur in some people.
“The infection can spread when someone is in close contact with an infected person; however, there is a very low risk of transmission to the general population.”
“Initial symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills, and exhaustion. A rash can develop, often starting on the face and then spreading to other parts of the body. The rash changes and goes through different stages before finally forming a scab, which then falls off.”
He added that the UKHSA and the NHS have well-established and robust infection control procedures for dealing with cases of imported infectious diseases and these will be strictly followed.
About monkeypox
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), monkeypox was first discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of a smallpox-like illness occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research, hence the name” monkey pox”.
The first human case of monkeypox was reported in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during a period of intensifying efforts to eliminate smallpox.
Since then, cases of monkeypox have been reported in people from several other West and Central African countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, and Sierra Leone. .
