The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed two people with monkeypox in London.
Couples who live in the same household and are not linked to another person have was diagnosed with the disease in the UK earlier this month.
The viral infection is similar to smallpox in humans and usually causes mild illness, with most people recovering within a few weeks.
One of the latest to test positive is being treated at the infectious disease specialist unit at St Mary’s Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London.
However, the other person is in isolation and does not need hospital treatment, UKHSA said.
Health officials say they are currently investigating where and how the latest cases were contracted.
They also confirmed people who may have a close relationship with the two people being contacted and health counseling.
Director of Clinical and Emerging Infections at UKHSA, Dr Colin Brown notes that it is important to remember that infections “do not spread easily between people and require close personal contact”. with people with symptoms.
“The overall risk to the public remains very low,” he added.
The case announced earlier this month is a person with a recent history of travel from Nigeria, where they are believed to have been infected.
At the time, the person was believed to be being cared for in the infectious diseases unit at Guy’s NHS Foundation Trust in London.
What are the symptoms?
Early symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion, according to UKHSA.
The rash can also grow, change, and go through different stages before forming a scab, which then falls off.
According to the NHS, it is mainly spread by wildlife in areas of west or central Africa and the risk of catching it in the UK is very low.
According to Public Health England, the infection was first detected in 1958 when an outbreak of a chickenpox-like illness occurred in monkeys kept for research.
It was not until 1970 that the first human case was recorded.
