A further 104 cases of monkeypox have been reported in the UK, bringing the total number in that country to 470, the UK Health Security Agency said in a statement on Monday.
The agency recommended contacting a sexual health clinic for anyone with a blistering rash, or who in the past three weeks has had close contact, including sexual contact, with someone who has or may have have monkeypox, or have traveled to West or Central Africa.
“Anyone can get monkeypox, especially if they have close contact, including sexual contact, with an individual showing symptoms,” she said.
As of Sunday, 452 cases have been confirmed in England, twelve in Scotland, four in Wales and two in Northern Ireland, the statement said.
Most of these cases have been detected in men who are gay, bisexual, or who have sex with men, the agency said.
Updates from the health agency have highlighted the risk of the disease spreading, Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia’s Norwich Medical School, told Xinhua on Saturday.
“Monkey pox appears to be almost exclusively transmitted through close, intimate contact. People should therefore avoid contact with people who may be infected, especially if they have a rash,” he warned, adding that he supported the American medical experts according to whom wearing a mask would have a negligible effect on the transmission of this disease.
On June 8, a new law making monkeypox a notifiable disease came into effect in the UK. All doctors in the country are now required to inform their local council or local health protection team of any suspected cases.