Monkeypox: contagious disease confirmed as having spread in UK for first time as third case discovered in Blackpool

Public health officials taking ‘highly precautionary’ approach to prevent virus spreading further

A healthcare worker has been quarantined with monkeypox in a bid to prevent the potentially deadly virus from spreading, public health officials have confirmed.

The patient, who had not been named, was transferred from the Blackpool Victoria Hospital to Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary, where they were placed in isolation.

The facility in the northeast has previously treated patients that have contracted the virus.

Those previous cases had, however, each independently travelled to Nigeria where there was a major outbreak of the disease in 2017.

Public Health England (PHE) said it is taking a “highly precautionary approach” to the virus, which can be serious in rare cases, adding that it was monitoring closely anyone who has been in contact with an infected person.

The virus spreads through close contact and it takes 16 days for symptoms, including fever, headaches and a rash that can form crusted blisters, to appear.

Anyone who had been in contact with the healthcare worker 24 hours before they noticed the rash is now being traced.

Dr Nick Phin, deputy director at PHE’s National Infection Service, said: “This healthcare worker cared for the patient before a diagnosis of monkeypox was made. We have been actively monitoring contacts for 21 days after exposure to detect anyone presenting with an illness so that they can be assessed quickly. It is therefore not wholly unexpected that a case has been identified.

“This person has been isolated and we are taking a highly precautionary approach to ensure that all contacts are traced.”

The UK’s first case was reportedly a Nigerian citizen and naval officer who was staying at a base in Cornwall. They are currently being treated at a specialist unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London.

PHE said it was working to trace people who may have shared their flight to the UK.

The second case was diagnosed in Blackpool in a person who had independently visited Nigeria. They are currently being treated at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

The disease, is related to smallpox but is much milder and was first identified in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It has mostly been spread on the African continent through the handling of infected monkeys. However, it is thought that Gambian giant rats and squirrels, along with other rodents are the most likely source of the virus.

Deaths have been recorded, particularly among the young, and the World Health Organisation reports that one in 10 cases are fatal – though this is predominantly in countries with less developed health systems.

In Nigeria’s outbreak in 2017, the largest ever seen, 172 suspected cases of monkeypox were identified and 61 confirmed cases were reported across the country. ​Seventy-five per cent of sufferers were male and aged between 21 and 40 years old.

Eating inadequately cooked meat from infected animals is another possible risk factor, according to the World Health Organisation.

Healthcare staff or people who may have come into contact with either infected person should contact PHE for health advice.