Two new people have been diagnosed with ‘monkeypox’, or monkey pox, in the UK in cases unrelated to the previous infection, health bosses told the BBC.
One of the two people is being treated in hospital, said the British Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
The cases, which are the eighth and ninth ever confirmed in the UK, are unrelated to the previously confirmed case in England announced on May 7.
Close contacts of the latest two cases are being given health information and advice “as a precaution”, the UKHSA said.
Monkeypox is a rare viral infection that kills up to one in ten infected people but does not spread easily between people.
Health bosses said it was important to stress that the overall risk to the general public remains “very low”.
Health officials added they were investigating where and how the couple contracted their infection.
The case announced earlier this month involved a person who had recently traveled from Nigeria, where they are believed to have contracted the infection, before traveling to the UK.
