UK health worker contracts rare monkeypox virus in third case

LONDON (Reuters) – A health worker from the north of England is the third person in Britain to contract a rare disease caused by a Monkeypox virus after treating an infected patient after his trip to Nigeria, officials said on Wednesday. of health.

The last patient had been involved in another case at Blackpool Victoria Hospital prior to the diagnosis of monkeypox, Public Health England said in a statement.

Monkeypox is a rare viral infection that does not usually spread easily from one person to another. The virus is similar to human smallpox, which was eradicated in 1980. Although monkeypox is much sweeter than smallpox, most infected people recovering within a few weeks, it can in rare cases be lethal.

Health officials said earlier this month that two people in Britain had been diagnosed with monkeypox in separate cases, suspected of being linked to the trip to Nigeria, West Africa. These are the first cases of monkeypox in Britain.

This third case has been isolated and is currently being cared for by a specialized unit of the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, in north-east England, the statement said.

"This health worker cared for the patient before making a diagnosis of monkeypox," said Nick Phin, of the National PHE Infections Department.

"We actively monitor contacts for 21 days after exposure to detect anyone with a disease so they can be assessed quickly. It is therefore not totally unexpected that a case has been identified.

"This person has been isolated and we take a very careful approach to ensure that all contacts are followed," he added.

Phin had previously stated that the monkeypox virus was likely to circulate in Nigeria after a major outbreak in 2017, and could therefore affect travelers returning to Britain.