UK Confirms Over 1,200 Monkeypox Cases; UKHSA Vaccination Strategy Offers Smallpox Vaccine to Fight Virus

Professor Kevin Fenton, London's top public health doctor, urged people with monkeypox symptoms to avoid attending London Pride events this weekend and report blisters, fever, and swollen glands to their doctors.

Monkeypox cases across the United Kingdom and other European countries have drastically increased in the past few months. WHO Europe head Henri Kluge called on governments to ramp up efforts in preventing monkeypox from establishing itself in the continent. He called the spread of the monkeypox virus an "emergency event."

(Photo : CDC/Getty Images)
In this 1971 Center For Disease Control handout photo, monkeypox-like lesions are shown on the arm and leg of a female child in Bondua, Liberia.

Monkeypox Cases in the UK

The recent data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows a total of 1,235 confirmed monkeypox cases across the country. That is a significant increase from the last data on June 26, with 1,076 confirmed cases.

Yahoo! News reported that nearly 700 cases are confirmed in London, wherein 33 new cases were detected since Tuesday. The capital city holds 76% of cases in England, with 693 out of 898 cases.

England has recorded 150 new cases in less than a week and now has a total of 1,185 monkeypox cases. Meanwhile, Scotland has recorded 34 monkeypox cases, Wales has 10, and Northern Ireland has six.

People who have symptoms or tested positive were advised to self-isolate and not to attend the London Pride event this weekend. There are overwhelming cases of the virus infecting homosexual, bisexual, and other men who have sexual relations with other men, which is why UKHSA warns people to enjoy the weekend event safely.

Monkeypox incident director Wendi Shepherd said that attendees should check themselves for blisters and rashes before attending the London Pride event. If they have symptoms or feel unwell, it is best to avoid going and immediately contact health facilities to get tested. It is also advisable to exchange contact details with sexual partners to limit transmission.

Authorities estimated around 1.5 million attendees to Saturday this year's Pride event. It is also the 50th year of Britain's first Pride march since 1972.

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UK Offers Smallpox Vaccine for Monkeypox

According to UKHSA's press release, they are now offering vaccines to people at high risk of exposure to monkeypox to help control the recent virus outbreak. Although the virus is not considered a sexually transmitted infection, the latest outbreak data shows high transmission rates within sexual networks of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sexual relations with other men.

As a response, UKHSA published its vaccination strategy that offers the smallpox vaccine Imvanex which has been proven effective against monkeypox. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) endorsed this strategy and was consulted on the eligibility criteria for the vaccine.

UKHSA said that the eligibility of a person depends on many factors that are similar to the criteria for assessing eligibility for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). The strategy also requires clinicians to advise vaccination for those with multiple partners.