- UK officials say the person who contracted the virus recently traveled from Nigeria.
- The person is being treated in London.
- The overall risk to the general public is very low, a doctor with the UK Health Security Agency said.
A rare case of monkeypox has been confirmed in England, according to a statement from the UK Health Security Agency.
The agency said the patient recently traveled from Nigeria and that’s where they likely contracted it. The individual is being treated at the expert infectious disease unit at the Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London.
The overall risk to the general public is very low, said Colin Brown, Director of Clinical and Emerging Infections at the UK Health Security Agency.
Monkeypox is a rare viral infection that doesn’t spread easily between people, the agency said. Most people recover within a few weeks. Still, severe illness can occur in some individuals.
Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion, the statement said. It’s possible for those who contract it to develop a rash that starts on the face and spreads to other parts of the body. The rash eventually forms a scab and falls off.
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“The infection can be spread when someone is in close contact with an infected person; however, there is a very low risk of transmission to the general population,” the agency said in its statement.
Agency experts will work with NHS colleagues and contact people who may have been in close contact with the patient, the agency said.
“This includes contacting a number of passengers who traveled in close proximity to the patient on the same flight to the UK,” the statement read. “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 become unwell they can be treated quickly.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, monkeypox was first discovered in 1958. There were two outbreaks of a pox-like disease in colonies of monkeys kept for research, which is where the disease’s name derives.
The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. There was a period of “intensified effort to eliminate smallpox,” the CDC said.
Recent cases have included a November 2021 report in which a US resident recently returned from Nigeria to the United States. According to the CDC, it can take up to 21 days for symptoms to develop after infection, so people who may have had contact with the patient were asked to monitor their health for 21 days.
In 2003, 47 confirmed and probable cases of monkeypox were reported from six states, including Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. Those infected got sick after being in contact with pet prairie dogs. The pets were infected after being housed near imported small mammals from Ghana, the CDC reported.
Investigators said a shipment of animals from Ghana was imported to Texas in April 2003, which introduced the monkeypox virus into the US The shipment contained 800 small mammals representing nine different species, including six types of rodents. These rodents included rope squirrels, tree squirrels, African giant pouched rats, brush-tailed porcupines, dormice and striped mice.
This outbreak was the first time that human monkeypox was reported outside of Africa, the CDC said. A study conducted after the outbreak suggested that touching a sick animal or receiving a bite or scratch that broke the skin could lead to infection, as well as cleaning the cage or touching the bedding of a sick animal.
“No instances of monkeypox infection were attributed exclusively to person-to-person contact,” the study found.
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia and loves all things horror, witches, Christmas and food.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism