'Most cases are mild, and I can confirm we have procured further doses of vaccines that are effective against monkeypox.' This morning I updated G7 health ministers on what we know so far. The Health Secretary said: 'UKHSA have confirmed 11 new cases of monkeypox in the UK. Sajid Javid today revealed another 11 Britons had tested positive for the virus, taking the total to 20. Leading experts told MailOnline the strategy could be deployed if cases continue to disproportionally be in homosexual and bisexual males. "We are hoping to maximize vaccine distribution to those that we know would benefit from it, so those are people who have had contact with a known monkeypox patient, health-care workers, very close personal contacts and those in particular who might be at high risk for severe disease," McQuiston said.Gay men could be offered monkeypox vaccines as part of a focused rollout to tackle the UK's outbreak, which today doubled in size. McQuiston said the number of doses should increase quickly in the coming weeks as the vaccine maker boosts production. It is administered as two shots and doesn't have the same risk of severe side effects. also has more than 1,000 available doses of a vaccine called Jynneos that is FDA approved for people ages 18 and older at high risk of monkeypox or smallpox. However, the vaccine can have significant side effects and any decision to use it widely would require serious discussion, she said. has a stockpile of 100 million doses of an older generation vaccine called ACAM2000 that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for people at high risk of smallpox, according to McQuiston. The smallpox vaccine appears to be about 85% effective at preventing monkeypox, based on research in Africa, according to the CDC. There has been a surge of cases in Nigeria in recent years, but the cases identified around the world over the past two weeks are unusual because most of the patients did not have recent travel history to Nigeria or another country where the virus is usually found, according to McQuiston. had an outbreak of more than 70 cases in 2003 that stemmed from people keeping infected prairie dogs as pets.
It's unusual, though not unheard of, for monkeypox cases to be found outside a handful of West and Central African nations where the virus is endemic. The World Health Organization has identified about 200 confirmed or suspected monkeypox cases across at least a dozen countries in Europe and North America in recent days. Most people who catch the virus recover in two to four weeks without specific treatments, she said. are a milder West African strain, McQuiston said. State labs have tests that can identify orthopox, which are presumed to be monkeypox, but they have to be sent to the CDC in Atlanta for further analysis to confirm that diagnosis, McQuiston said. has confirmed one case of monkeypox in Massachusetts and four cases of orthopox in New York City, Florida and Utah, according to McQuiston. It is contact and intimate contact in the current outbreak setting and population." "Respiratory spread is not the predominant worry. But transmission from respiratory droplets requires prolonged face-to-face contact, according to the CDC. Though monkeypox can spread through respiratory droplets, the virus comes from infected lesions in the throat and mouth that can expel it into the air. While the virus has a long incubation period, patients are considered most infectious when they have a rash, McQuiston said. However, the rash has appeared first in some of the recently reported cases, according Dr. It then progresses to body rashes on the face, hands, feet, eyes, mouth or genitals that turn into raised bumps which then become blisters. Monkeypox usually begins with symptoms similar to the flu including fever, headache, muscle aches, chills, exhaustion and swollen lymph nodes. "Anyone with a rash or lesion around or involving their genitals, their anus or any other place that they have not seen it before, should be fully evaluated, both for that rash but particularly for sexually transmitted infection and other illnesses that can cause rash," Brooks said. He added that it's important for physicians and individuals to be aware of the symptoms associated with monkeypox, particularly anal or genital lesions that can be confused with herpes, syphilis or chickenpox.
The virus spreads through contact with body fluids and sores, Brooks said. Monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted disease, which is generally passed through semen or vaginal fluid, but it can be transmitted through sexual and intimate contact as well as through shared bedding.