While COVID-19 continues to run amok in the United Kingdom, fueled by the new Indian variant, there’s a new threat facing the British: Monkeypox.
Two confirmed cases of the extremely communicable West African disease have now been confirmed in the United Kingdom.
It was thought to have been introduced in May by a man who “had lived and worked in Delta State, Nigeria,” the World Health Organization (WHO) states.
The man arrived in the UK and quarantined with family and on May 10, “the patient developed a rash, beginning on the face. The patient remained in self-isolation for a further 10 days and sought medical care for relief of symptoms. The patient was admitted to a referral hospital on 23 May.”
By then the man had infected a family member “who [also] developed lesions … Both patients are stable and recovering,” according to the WHO report.
“As Health Secretary, you’re dealing with these sorts of outbreaks all of the time. I’m currently dealing with a monkeypox outbreak and cases of drug-resistant TB [tuberculosis], and that is absolutely standard,” Matt Hancock said in his evidence to MPs about the government’s response to COVID-19, according to the Mirror.
Monkeypox causes a rash and pus-filled blisters to grow on the body – and can be contracted via bedsheets, touching or clothing. While the disease is disturbing to see, it is usually not fatal.