Latest on where doctors are reporting suspected monkeypox

Published 02/07/2022 · Updated 03/07/2022

More places across England are reporting suspected cases of monkeypox. Since June 8, GPs and other doctors have been required to report any suspected cases of monkeypox they see, and laboratories must also report if the virus is identified in a laboratory sample. This is because monkeypox was added to the list of notifiable diseases by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

These are infectious diseases, such as measles, scarlet fever, and whooping cough, which have to be reported to local authorities or local Health Protection Teams. The figures for suspected cases reported locally are much lower than the number of cases confirmed by the UKHSA – meaning there may be more cases in these areas. Numbers may be lower because confirmed cases have not also been reported as suspected cases.

In the week ending June 26, 32 cases were reported in England. That was on top of 20 cases the week before, and 13 cases the week before that.

Where suspected monkeypox cases been reported

Week ending June 26

Blackpool – two cases
Brighton and Hove
Bristol
Bromley
Central Bedfordshire
East Cambridgeshire
Enfield
Halton
Hammersmith and Fulham
Lewisham – two cases
Liverpool
Manchester – five cases
Medway
Mid Suffolk
Portsmouth
South Holland
Southwark – two cases
St Helens – two cases
Tameside
Thanet – two cases
West Somerset
Wirral
Woking

Week ending June 19

Bath and North East Somerset – two cases
Bedford
Blackpool – two cases
Bristol – two cases
Central Bedfordshire
Cheshire West and Chester
Leeds
Manchester – two cases
Newark and Sherwood
Newcastle
North Lincolnshire
Norwich – two cases
Salford – three cases

Week ending June 12

Bromley
Croydon
Epping Forest
Hammersmith and Fulham
Medway
Middlesbrough
Reigate and Banstead
Sheffield
South Tyneside
Sutton
Thurrock
Wellingborough
Wigan

Week ending June 5

Leicester
Newham
Wycombe

Week ending May 29

Northampton
Tamworth

Week ending May 22

Maidstone
Thanet

As of June 26, there were 1,076 laboratory confirmed cases in the UK. Of these, 27 were in Scotland, 5 were in Northern Ireland, 9 were in Wales and 1,035 were in England.

Dr Sophia Makki, Incident director at UKHSA said: “The monkeypox outbreak in the UK continues to grow, with over a thousand cases now confirmed nationwide. We expect cases to continue to rise further in the coming days and weeks. If you are attending large events over the summer or having sex with new partners, be alert to any monkeypox symptoms so you can get tested rapidly and help avoid passing the infection on.

“Currently the majority of cases have been in men who are gay, bisexual or have sex with men. However, anyone who has had close contact with an individual with symptoms is also at increased risk. “If you are concerned that you may have monkeypox, don’t go to events, meet with friends or have sexual contact.

Instead, stay at home and contact 111 or your local sexual health service for advice. We are grateful to all the people who have come forward so far for testing and to assist us with our contact tracing.” A strategy published by the UKHSA has recommended that some gay and bisexual men at higher risk of exposure to monkeypox should be offered vaccines to help control the recent outbreak of the virus.

Although anyone can contract monkeypox, data from the latest outbreak shows higher levels of transmission within – but not exclusive to – the sexual networks of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. The virus is not currently defined as a sexually transmitted infection, but it can be passed on by close and intimate contact that occurs during sex. The strategy recommends offering the smallpox vaccine Imvanex, which is shown to be effective against monkeypox, to men considered to be at higher risk of exposure.

An individual’s eligibility would depend on a number of factors but would be similar to the criteria used to assess those eligible for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) – but applied regardless of HIV status.